■JipPB?! 


1912 


The 

Ehrich  Galleries 
“(ill*  masters” 

(Exclusively) 


Rare  and  Beautiful  Examples 

( fully  authenticated) 

of  Early 

English  Italian 

French  Spanish 

Flemish  Dutch 

PAINTINGS 

463  and  465  Fifth  Avenue 

At  Fortieth  Street  NEW  YORK  CITY 


Special  Attention  Given  to  the  Expertising, 
Restoration  and  Framing  of  “(0lh  masters” 


CONTEMPORARY 

SCANDINAVIAN  ART 


Held  under  the  auspices  of  the 

AMERICAN- SCANDINAVIAN 
SOCIETY 

Introduction  and  Biographical  Notes 

By  CHRISTIAN  BRINTON 

With  the  collaboration  of  Director  KARL  MADSEN 
Director  JENS  THUS,  and  CARL  G.  LAURIN 


The  American  Art  Galleries 

JMew  York 

December  tenth  to  twenty-fifth  inclusive 


Copyright,  1912 
By  Christian  Brinton 


First  Impression 
6,000  Copies 


Redfield  Brothers,  Inc. 
New  York 


SCANDINAVIAN  ART 
EXHIBITION 


Under  the  Gracious  Patronage  of 

HIS  MAJESTY  GUSTAV  V 

King  of  Sweden 

HIS  MAJESTY  CHRISTIAN  X 

King  of  Denmark 

HIS  MAJESTY  HAAKON  VII 

King  of  Norway 

Held  by  the 

American-Scandinavian  Society 

1912-1913 

in 

NEW  YORK,  BUFFALO,  TOLEDO, 
CHICAGO,  AND  BOSTON 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 


The  American-Scandinavian  Society  was  estab¬ 
lished  primarily  to  cultivate  closer  relations  be¬ 
tween  the  people  of  the  United  States  of  America  and  the 
leading  Scandinavian  countries,  to  strengthen  the  bonds 
between  Scandinavian  Americans,  and  to  advance  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  Scandinavian  culture  among  the  American  pub¬ 
lic,  particularly  among  the  descendants  of  Scandinavians. 

The  American-Scandinavian  Foundation  is  an 
independent  institution  consisting  of  a  self-perpetuating 
Board  of  Trustees,  established  to  hold  in  trust  and  admin¬ 
ister  an  endowment  of  more  than  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  given  by  the  late  Niels  Poulson. 

THE  FOUNDATION,  which  is  working  in  close  sympa¬ 
thy  with  the  Society,  being  created  to  promote  essentially 
the  same  end,  has,  by  granting  to  the  Society  a  considerable 
subsidy,  made  possible  the  Scandinavian  Art  Exhibition. 

The  exhibition  is  remarkable  from  several  points  of  view. 
It  is  one  of  the  few  occasions  in  the  history  of  Scandinavian 
art  that  the  three  countries  have  united  in  exhibiting.  It 
is  the  first  time  that  most  of  the  painters  represented, 
although  of  international  reputation  in  Europe,  have  ex¬ 
hibited  in  the  United  States,  and  it  comprises,  in  as  far  as 
has  been  possible,  the  best  work  of  living  artists. 

The  Society  and  the  Foundation  have  for  several  years 
desired  to  familiarize  the  American  public  with  the  remark - 


7 


able  modern  painting  of  Scandinavia,  and  have  herewith 
endeavoured  to  show  American  Scandinavians,  in  the  most 
favourable  and  acceptable  manner,  the  production  of  the 
leading  Swedish,  Danish,  and  Norwegian  painters.  • 

In  order  to  interest  the  Scandinavian  Governments  and 
artists  in  the  project,  the  President  of  the  American-Scandi- 
navian  Society  went  to  Scandinavia  during  the  Spring. 
Their  Majesties,  King  Gustav  V,  of  Sweden,  King  Christian 
X,  of  Denmark,  and  King  Haakon  VII,  of  Norway, 
most  graciously  consented  to  act  as  Honourary  Patrons, 
each  of  their  country’s  art;  their  respective  Governments 
gave  every  possible  assistance,  and  the  artists  themselves 
joined  enthusiastically  in  the  plan.  Mr.  Christian  Brinton 
accompanied  Mr.  Gade  and  proved  invaluable  in  his 
capacity  as  critic  and  connoisseur.  The  Society  as  well 
as  American  art  lovers  further  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
the  brothers,  Carl  G.  and  Thorsten  Laurin,  of  Stockholm, 
to  Mr.  Karl  Madsen,  Director  of  the  Royal  Gallery  at 
Copenhagen,  to  Mr.  Otto  Benzon,  of  Copenhagen,  and  to 
Mr.  Jens  Thiis,  Director  of  the  National  Gallery  at  Christi¬ 
ania,  as  well  as  to  the  numerous  generous  and  patriotic 
owners  of  paintings,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  who  have 
gladly  loaned  from  their  private  collections  in  order  that 
many  of  their  countries’  chief  artistic  treasures  might  not 
be  omitted  from  the  exhibition.  It  is  a  particular  pleasure 
in  this  connection  to  mention  the  names  of  Mr.  Carl  Piltz, 
of  Stockholm,  Baron  Rosenkrantz,  of  Rosenholm,  Dr. 
Alfred  Bramsen,  of  Copenhagen,  Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Jones  and 
the  Albright  Art  Gallery  of  Buffalo,  Hugo  Reisinger  Esq., 
and  Robert  W.  de  Forest  Esq.,  of  New  York. 

The  Norwegian  portrait  painter,  Mr.  Henrik  Lund, 
accompanies  the  paintings  on  their  visit  throughout  this 
country,  acting  as  Artistic  Director  of  the  Exhibition. 


8 


AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN  SOCIETY 


OFFICERS  FOR  1912 


JOHN  A.  GADE . President 

REV.  FREDERICK  LYNCH . Vice-President 

HANNA  ASTRUP  LARSEN . Acting  Secretary 

REV.  W.  H.  SHORT . Treasurer 

H.  E.  ALMBERG . Counsel 

F.  W.  GREENFIELD  ) 

EMIL  F.  JOHNSON  f . Auditors 


BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 


LOUIS  S.  AMONSON . Philadelphia,  Pa. 

PROF.  GISLE  BOTHNE,  University  of  Minnesota,  Minneapolis, Minn 

MILES  M.  DAWSON . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

PROF.  GEORGE  T.  FLOM  .  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  Ill. 

J.  D.  FREDERIKSEN . Little  Falls,  N.  Y. 

JOHN  A.  GADE . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

JOHN  D.  HAGE . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

J.  HOVING,  M.D . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

OVE  LANGE . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

CARL  LORENTZEN . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

REV.  FREDERICK  LYNCH  ....  New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

PROF.  DAVID  NYVALL,  Washington  State  Univ.,  Seattle,  Wash. 
PROF.  A.  H.  PALMER  Yale  University,  New  Haven,  Conn. 

FRODE  RAMBUSCH . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

P.  A.  REQUE,  M.D . Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

REV.  W.  H.  SHORT . New  York  City,  N.  Y. 

CONSUL  C.  A.  SMITH . Oakland,  Cal. 

HON.  OSCAR  M.  TORRISON . Chicago,  Ill. 


9 


AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN  FOUNDATION 


OFFICERS  FOR  1912 

REV.  FREDERICK  LYNCH . President 

CONSUL-GENERAL  CHR.  RAVN . Vice-President 

HENRY  GODDARD  LEACH . Secretary 

REV.  W.  H.  SHORT . Treasurer 

H.  E.  ALMBERG . Counsel 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES  OF  THE 
AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN  FOUNDATION 

LOUIS  S.  AMONSON 
SAMUEL  T.  DUTTON 
CHARLES  S.  HAIGHT 
HAMILTON  HOLT 
ALEXANDER  E.  JOHNSON 
JOHN  D.  HAGE 
PROF.  WM.  HOVGAARD 
REV.  FREDERICK  LYNCH 
CONSUL  O.  H.  HAUGAN 
PROF.  WILLIAM  H.  SCHOFIELD 
PROF.  ARTHUR  H.  PALMER 
CONSUL-GENERAL  CHR.  RAVN 
CONSUL  CHAS.  A.  SMITH 
REV.  WILLIAM  H.  SHORT 


10 


INTRODUCTION 

By  CHRISTIAN  BRINTON 

NOT  the  least  significant  phase  of  esthetic  expression 
has  been  the  constant  endeavour  on  the  one  hand  to 
achieve  a  fusion  of  form,  line,  and  colour  that  shall  commend 
itself  as  universal  in  appeal,  and  on  the  other  to  preserve 
those  fundamental  factors  which  may  be  designated  as 
national  in  substance.  It  is  a  struggle  that  has  been  waged 
unceasingly  throughout  the  ages,  and  which  repeats  itself 
alike  in  the  artistic  development  of  every  nation  and  every 
individual.  The  human  spirit  constantly  seeks  to  voice  in 
expansive  fashion  the  great,  typical  impressions  received 
from  nature  and  from  life,  and  yet  has  at  the  same  time 
been  endowed  with  the  precious  faculty  of  interpreting  them 
after  its  own  specific  manner  and  largely  according  to  a 
predetermined  plan.  If  you  attempt  to  deprive  the  creative 
impulse  of  its  conscious  or  unconscious  universality  of 
utterance,  or  of  its  inherent  nationality  of  accent,  you  go  far 
toward  destroying  its  significance,  for  art,  whether  pro¬ 
duced  in  obscure  wayside  cottage,  simple  hut  among  the 
hills,  or  under  the  prestige  of  an  organized  institution,  will 
instinctively  seek  to  widen  its  outlook  and  clothe  itself  in  a 
language  for  which  it  has  the  justification  of  an  inalienable 
racial  heritage. 


11 


It  is  to  the  enduring  credit  of  the  leading  Scandinavian 
countries  that  they  may  be  counted  among  those  fortunate 
peoples  who,  despite  external  influences,  have  stoutly 
guarded  their  native  artistic  birthright.  Their  achieve¬ 
ments  in  the  field  of  painting,  sculpture,  architecture,  and 
industrial  design  are  refreshingly  and  unmistakably  their 
own.  Save  in  rare  and  isolated  cases  they  do  not  speak, 
and  do  not  attempt  to  speak,  that  superficial  studio  Volapuk, 
that  facile  salon  Esperanto,  which  is  so  utterly  devoid  of 
character  and  vitality.  You  will  remark  above  all  in  the 
production  of  each  of  these  nations,  and  to  a  kindred  degree 
in  each  instance,  the  salutary  stamp  of  race  and  of  country. 
It  is  in  fact  only  the  redoubtable  Russians  who  can  to-day 
compete  with  the  sturdy  Scandinavians  in  the  possession  of 
a  spontaneous,  unspoiled  esthetic  patrimony.  The  reasons 
for  such  a  situation  have  in  many  respects  been  similar,  if 
not,  indeed,  identical.  As  in  the  case  of  Russia,  the  relative 
geographical  remoteness  of  the  Peninsula,  the  barrier  of  an 
unfamiliar  speech,  and  the  fact  that  the  pallid  fervour 
of  Christianity  and  the  pagan  richness  of  the  Renais¬ 
sance  were  comparatively  late  in  making  appearance  on 
the  scene,  all  tended  toward  preserving  that  integrity  of 
expression  alike  in  art,  letters,  and  music  which  is  their  most 
distinctive  possession.  It  must  not,  however,  be  jauntily 
assumed  that  the  contribution  of  the  Scandinavian  nations 
to  the  sum  of  creative  artistic  effort  is,  save  in  a  broad  sense, 
one  and  the  same.  Their  painting,  in  particular,  divides 
itself  into  three  well-defined  schools,  which  developed  at 
different  intervals,  and  the  leading  features  of  which  are 
manifestly  at  variance. 

Historically,  and  in  the  general  order  of  precedence, 
Sweden  was  the  first  of  the  Northern  countries  to  foster 
esthetic  culture  in  any  definite  degree.  Long  before  Den- 


12 


mark,  and  still  longer  before  Norway  could  boast  an  interest 
in  the  fine  arts — apart,  of  course,  from  their  most  primitive 
and  elementary  application — the  Swedes  were  familiar  with 
that  which  was  being  accomplished  abroad,  and  were  wel¬ 
coming  to  their  shores  prominent  painters  and  architects 
from  Holland,  Germany,  France,  and  Italy.  Protected  by 
the  Court  and  favoured  by  the  nobility,  art  flourished  in 
approved  fashion  in  Stockholm  and  certain  other  of  the 
more  important  centres.  Still,  though  a  great  deal  has 
always  been  made  of  early  Swedish  culture,  it  is  not  clearly 
realized  that  it  was  of  the  most  extraneous  and  sporadic 
description.  It  is  true  that  the  Thirty  Years’  War  had 
made  these  hardy  campaigners  masters  of  some  of  the  finest 
collections  in  all  Europe;  it  is  likewise  true  that  Swedish- 
born  painters  attained  distinction  in  Paris  and  elsewhere, 
but  nevertheless  beauty  in  no  sense  penetrated  the  masses, 
and  much  less  was  it  a  product  of  patient,  earnest,  local 
endeavour. 

The  chief  reasons  why  it  was  several  generations  before 
the  Swedes  were  able  to  display  anything  resembling  inde¬ 
pendent  artistic  activity  were  the  distraction  and  general 
depletion  of  vitality  occasioned  by  incessant  foreign  wars, 
and  the  fact  that  the  population  was  distributed  over  such 
a  wide  area  that  communication  was  difficult  if  not,  indeed, 
actually  impossible.  Art  is  essentially  social  and  gregari¬ 
ous,  and  it  is,  in  consequence,  not  to  eighteenth  century 
Sweden,  but  to  Denmark  during  the  early  years  of  the  nine¬ 
teenth  century  that  we  must  turn  for  the  first  specific  signs 
of  esthetic  promise  throughout  the  entire  Peninsula.  Liv¬ 
ing  in  a  geographically  more  condensed  community,  and 
being  themselves  innately  peaceful  and  home-loving  at 
heart,  the  Danes  were  enabled  to  produce  those  few  almost 
apologetic,  yet  epoch-making  figures,  so  sympathetically 


13 


silhouetted  by  Director  Madsen,  who  were  the  veritable 
founders  of  modern  Scandinavian  painting.  Their  inherent 
clarity  of  vision,  their  simplicity  of  theme  and  treat¬ 
ment  and,  above  all,  their  unfailing  solidarity  and  cohesion, 
shielded  them  from  outside  influences.  At  a  period  when 
the  rest  of  Europe  was  revelling  in  the  pretentious  aftermath 
of  the  classic  revival,  and  later,  when  the  specious  gleams  of 
a  purely  studio  romanticism  were  flashed  upon  soaring 
mountain  peak,  crumbling  ruin,  and  tiny  peasant  chalet,  the 
Danes  alone  remained  true  to  native  type  and  scene.  Their 
art  was  unpretentious,  but  it  was  soundly  and  endearingly 
national  in  feeling.  Even  those  first,  earnest-souled  pil¬ 
grims  who  went  to  Italy,  flung  off  a  flaccid  classicism  when 
they  faced  homeward,  and  ended  by  preferring  simple 
Copenhagen  townsfolk  to  Sicilian  bandit  and  Neapolitan 
flower  seller.  You  will  find  nowhere,  save  in  the  work  of 
the  Dutchmen  themselves,  a  similar  love  of  everyday 
motive  such  as  you  discover  in  the  art  of  the  Danes.  This 
modestly  tenacious  desire  to  be  and  to  remain  oneself  is  the 
keynote  of  Danish  painting.  And  it  is  this  quality  that 
is  responsible  for  an  unbroken  continuity  of  development 
extending  down  to  the  present  day. 

On  glancing,  with  somewhat  more  than  casual,  tourist 
curiosity  at  the  artistic  prospect  of  Norway,  you  will  be 
greeted  with  a  wholly  different  set  of  conditions,  both  social 
and  historical,  and  consequently  with  results  which  present 
still  further  variation  from  the  general  type  under  considera¬ 
tion.  Norway  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having  evolved, 
during  the  dim,  legendary  days  of  her  intrepid  Vikings  and 
sea  rovers,  a  thoroughly  original  and  independent  national 
style.  Buckler  and  shield,  carved  ship  prow,  and  curious 
wooden  house,  not  to  mention  commemorative  tablets  to 
fallen  heroes,  and  the  richly  ornamental  dress  of  the  living, 


14 


all  bear  witness  to  a  bold  and  individual  conception  of  the 
possibilities  of  decorative  design.  Superb  in  rhythm  and 
splendid  in  form  as  much  of  this  work  is,  it  was,  alas,  swept 
aside  by  the  inevitable  ferment  of  the  ages  and  has  persisted 
largely  in  mind  and  memory,  and  not,  to  any  perceptible 
degree,  as  a  vital  creative  force.  It  is  true  that  at  present 
there  is  an  intelligent  and  well-defined  movement  to  revive 
the  ancient  saga  spirit,  yet  it  is  mainly  confined  to  the  field 
of  arts  and  crafts.  Although  boasting  what  should  logically 
have  proved  a  magnificently  fruitful  legacy,  contemporary 
Norwegian  painting  owes  little  or  nothing  to  the  past.  Its 
actual  beginnings  date  only  from  the  early  decades 
of  the  last  century.  In  point  of  fact,  it  is  the  youngest 
school  of  the  three,  and  as  such  flaunts  the  priceless  boon 
of  a  fresh,  unfatigued  outlook  upon  nature  and  life.  There 
having  been  no  such  thing  as  systematic  training  in  their 
own  country,  the  pioneer  Norwegian  painters  went,  as  a 
rule,  to  Copenhagen  for  instruction,  and  it  was  there  that 
they  absorbed  that  veracious,  clear-eyed  vision  of  external 
reality  which  has  set  its  wholesome  seal  upon  the  work  of 
each  successive  generation. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  fragmentary  and  not  infrequently 
shadowy  profile  of  Scandinavian  painting  during  the  forma¬ 
tive  stages  of  its  development.  You  note  in  the  art  of 
Sweden,  that  is  to  say  in  the  art  of  the  Gustavian  and 
Carolean  periods,  a  refined  and  spirited  eclecticism  charac¬ 
teristic  of  a  community  in  close  touch  with  Continental 
ideals.  Still,  no  matter  how  cultured  its  Court  and  upper 
classes  may  have  been,  a  nation  largely  composed  of  restless 
warriors  and  remotely  isolated  agriculturists  cannot  be  at 
the  same  time  a  nation  of  painters,  and  Sweden  was  fated 
to  wait  until  a  much  later  date  before  evincing  her  inherent 
artistic  proclivities.  In  the  case  of  Denmark,  as  you  readily 


15 


see,  the  situation  was  distinctly  more  favourable  for  the 
fostering  of  native  talent.  Less  ambitious  of  conquering  a 
world  position  by  sheer  force  of  arms,  satisfied  in  the  main 
with  her  restricted  natural  bounderies,  and  possessing  the 
wisdom  and  sagacity  to  cultivate  herself  intensively  along 
all  lines  of  activity,  it  is  but  fitting  that  art,  which  is  so 
essentially  a  flower  of  social  stability,  should  have  first 
taken  root  upon  Danish  soil.  With  Norway  it  must  always 
be  a  source  of  regret  that  the  inspiring  substratum  of 
saga  tradition  should  have  been  buried  so  deeply  beneath 
the  debris  of  time  and,  indeed,  often  wilfully  neglected  or 
destroyed — yet  still  in  the  present-day  production  of  these 
rugged  sons  of  mountain  and  fjord  we  are  convincingly 
confronted  with  the  spirit  of  their  ancestors.  Full  of  unde¬ 
veloped  power  and  passionate  defiance,  more  fundamentally 
talented  than  the  Swedes,  and  endowed  with  an  aggressive 
force  often  disconcerting  to  the  pacific  Danes,  the  Nor¬ 
wegians  were  able,  within  the  span  of  a  few  brief,  tempest¬ 
uous  years,  to  place  themselves  abreast  of  their  more 
advantageously  situated  neighbours. 

It  was  inevitable,  once  intercommunication  with  the 
Continent  was  established,  that  Scandinavian  painting 
should  have  responded  to  those  same  influences  which, 
during  the  ensuing  decades,  dominated  European  art  in 
general.  Classicism  was  followed  by  romanticism,  and 
within  romanticism  and  its  robust  successor,  naturalism, 
lurked  the  germs  of  the  impressionist  movement.  The 
romantic  tendency  in  German  art  and  the  taste  for  story 
telling  genre  found  ready  devotees  among  the  midcentury 
Scandinavian  painters.  In  Sweden  we  have  Malmstrom  and 
his  delicately  diaphanous  water  nymphs;  in  Denmark  we 
note  Exner  and  his  genial  souled  Amager  peasants,  while 
Norway  completes  the  picture  with  the  panoramically 


16 


viewed  fjords  and  mountains  of  Gude,  and  Tidemand’s 
more  serious  and  solidly  constructed  rural  pastors  or  gaily 
decked  bridal  couples  in  the  Hardanger.  Dusseldorf  was 
the  point  from  which  radiated  this  manifestly  false  concep¬ 
tion  of  reality.  The  grandiose  glow  of  artificial  sunset  and 
the  softly  mellow  radiance  of  humble,  candle-lit  interior 
characterized  the  all  too  popular  output  of  this  period. 
Genuine,  first-hand  observation  was  unknown.  Art  had 
again  become  a  mere  convention,  though  by  no  means  so 
diverting  a  one  as  in  the  days  of  Watteau  and  his  more 
playful  pedants,  Fragonard,  Lancret,  and  Pater. 

While  there  is  no  denying  that  Scandinavian  painters  of 
the  middle  and  the  third  quarter  of  the  century  fell  under 
this  same  insidious  spell,  they  were  by  no  means  slavish 
followers  of  a  mood  which  in  more  than  one  sense  was 
utterly  foreign  to  their  inborn  taste  and  inclination.  Al¬ 
though  there  were  at  one  interval  no  less  than  twenty-seven 
Swedish  students  at  the  Diisseldorf  Academy,  and  though 
the  prestige  of  Dahl  at  Dresden  and  Gude  at  Karlsruhe  and 
later  at  Berlin  was  recognized  on  all  sides,  the  Northern 
painters  were  more  sincerely  naturalistic  in  their  landscapes 
and  more  soundly  truthful  in  their  character  studies  than 
were  their  Teutonic  professors  and  prototypes.  And  when 
at  length  the  day  of  Dusseldorf  was  finally  over,  and  with 
one  accord  they  all  repaired  to  Munich,  the  Norwegians  in 
particular  revealed  a  sober  richness  of  tonality  and  freedom 
of  brush  stroke  which  at  once  made  them  remarked  in  the 
then  most  popular  art  centre  of  Europe. 

While  it  was  portraiture  and  landscape  which  mainly 
attracted  the  Norwegians,  it  was  the  more  pretentious 
appeal  of  historical  theme  that  claimed  the  attention  of  the 
Swedes.  This  was  not  alone  the  day  of  Eilif  Peterssen’s 
dark  and  imposing  likenesses  of  the  leading  artistic  and 


17 


literary  figures  of  the  early  ’eighties;  it  was  also  the  hour 
of  the  huge  concoctions  of  Georg  von  Rosen,  Gustaf 
Cederstrom,  and  Karl  Hellqvist,  certain  of  whose  canvases, 
heroic  in  size  and  supposedly  also  so  in  sentiment,  were 
actually  painted  within  the  shadow  of  the  Academy  walls 
and  under  the  approving  eyes  of  Wagner  and  Piloty.  We 
must  not,  however,  be  unduly  severe  upon  the  Scandina¬ 
vians  of  this  stressful  and  not  infrequently  distressing  epoch. 
Almost  every  artist  of  the  day  was  doing  much  the  same 
sort  of  thing.  It  was  the  fashion  to  be  impressive.  The 
human  countenance  was  given  unwonted  significance  by 
Lenbach  and  his  followers,  and  historical  scenes  were  staged 
with  a  dramatic  effectiveness  which  rivalled  that  of  the 
theatre.  Out  of  this  world,  which  was  largely  composed  of 
rhetoric  and  unreality,  sound  nevertheless  a  few  virile  and 
striking  notes.  You  cannot  forget  the  earnest,  militant 
gaze  of  Eilif  Peterssen’s  Arne  Garborg — painted,  it  is 
true,  much  later,  but  still  in  the  approved  Munich  manner 
— nor  do  you  fail  to  catch  a  hint  of  veritable  arctic  fortitude 
in  the  figure  of  von  Rosen’s  Adolf  Nordenskiold,  reso¬ 
lutely  facing  the  illimitable  expanse  of  ice  and  snow  stretch¬ 
ing  about  on  every  side. 

Straightforward  and  indigenous  as  Danish  art  has  ever 
been,  it  did  not  entirely  escape  the  current  fallacies  of  the 
hour.  Though  it  is  true  that  such  men  as  Carl  Bloch  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  ignoring  the  obligations  of  a  well-defined  national 
style,  such  phenomena  were,  however,  notably  rare.  The 
genteel  provincialism  of  Danish  art  remained  virtually 
undisturbed  by  extraneous  sympathies  for  some  time  yet. 
It  was  not,  in  fact,  until  the  coming  of  Krpyer  that  any  per¬ 
ceptible  change  took  place  in  the  contribution  of  these 
peaceful  apostles  of  objective  verity,  whose  vision  did  not 
extend  beyond  the  confines  of  their  serene  little  country, 


18 


every  corner  of  which  reflects  the  most  benign  care  and 
solicitude.  The  mention  of  Kr0yer  brings  us,  by  the  way, 
to  the  very  threshold  of  the  modern  movement,  the  first 
effects  of  which  tended  in  the  direction  of  internationalism, 
but  which,  after  a  brief  period  of  clarification,  became  the 
obedient  instrument  of  a  national  artistic  expression  reveal¬ 
ing  hitherto  unsuspected  depth  and  chromatic  brilliancy. 

Those  same  tendencies  which  had  for  years  past  developed 
so  spontaneously  and  unconsciously  with  the  Danes,  now 
took  definite  shape  with  the  Swedes  and  Norwegians.  The 
inspiring  period  of  self-discovery  ably  outlined  by  Director 
Thiis  in  the  field  of  Norwegian  art,  was  paralleled  by  the 
Swedes  along  kindred  lines.  Just  as  the  early  ’eighties  saw 
Erik  Werenskiold,  Christian  Krohg,  Gerhard  Munthe,  and 
Eilif  Peterssen  back  in  Christiania,  taking  up  the  cudgels 
for  the  new  cause,  so  that  less  belligerent  but  even  more 
spirited  group,  which  included  Zorn,  Larsson,  Liljefors, 
Josephson,  and  Nordstrom,  likewise  carried  the  fight  right 
the  portals  of  the  Swedish  Academy,  which  they  finally  to 
succeeded  in  opening  to  the  stimulating  light  of  day.  And 
what  is  still  more  significant,  the  movement  was  in  no  sense 
confined  to  painting  alone.  It  was  felt  alike  in  all  three 
countries  and  in  all  avenues  of  activity.  As  is  usually  the 
case  it  was  the  author  who  led  the  way,  and  the  artist  who 
followed  with  his  still  more  highly  developed  sense  of  form 
and  passionate  quest  of  colour.  In  Denmark  the  eloquent 
mysticism  of  Grundtvig  found  its  graphic  counterpart  in 
the  cartoons  of  Skovgaard.  In  Norway  Werenskiold  and 
Kittelsen  gave  typical  semblance  to  the  idyllic  figures  of 
native  folk  tale,  while  Swedish  landscape,  first  pictured  with 
sympathetic  accuracy  in  the  novels  of  Strindberg,  and  the 
appealingly  romantic  periods  of  Verner  von  Heidenstam, 
came  into  its  full  richness  and  splendour  in  the  austerely 


19 


beautiful  panels  of  Karl  Nordstrom,  the  star-studded  can¬ 
vases  of  Eugene  Jansson,  and  the  noble  exaltation  of 
Prince  Eugen’s  luminous  views  of  wood,  water,  and  majesti¬ 
cally  soaring  cloud. 

The  movement  toward  a  more  conscious  appreciation  of 
the  very  soul  of  the  Scandinavian  people  seemed,  however, 
to  focus  itself  in  the  work  and  personality  of  that  remarkable 
pioneer  in  a  singularly  fruitful  field,  Artur  Hazelius,  the 
virtual  creator  of  the  renowned  Northern  Museum  in  Stock¬ 
holm  and  the  nearby  Open  Air  Museum  at  Skansen.  It  is 
owing  to  the  zealous  energy  and  unflagging  enthusiasm  of 
Hazelius  that  the  Scandinavian  nation  as  a  whole  has  been 
brought  to  a  definite,  objective  realization  of  its  place  in 
European  ethnic  and  esthetic  development.  No  one  had 
heretofore  a  concise  idea  as  to  what  had  actually  been 
accomplished  until  Hazelius  and  his  assistants  began  collect¬ 
ing  the  humble,  anonymous  treasure  troves  of  peasant  indus¬ 
try  and  arranging  them  with  scientific  precision  and  pre¬ 
senting  them  in  the  most  enlightened  and  effective  manner 
possible.  Ancient  wooden  houses  were  transported  bodily 
to  Skansen  and  nestled  among  appropriately  authentic  gar¬ 
dens  and  grounds,  or  perched  upon  stony  hillside  corre¬ 
sponding  as  exactly  as  was  feasible  to  their  original  sites. 
Rooms  were  re-erected  and  furnished  precisely  as  they  were 
in  bygone  days,  and  the  incidental  decorative  and  domestic 
arts,  such  as  wood-carving,  iron  work,  pottery,  and  weaving, 
found  place  in  a  broad  scheme,  the  colour  notes  of  which 
were  contributed  by  the  bright  red,  clear  green,  dauntless 
yellow,  or  discreet  white  and  black  of  native  dress.  The 
work  which  Hazelius  accomplished  in  Sweden  under  such 
difficulties,  but  in  the  end  with  such  a  supreme  measure  of 
success,  was  in  part  duplicated  at  the  Danish  Folk  and 
Industrial  Art  Museums  of  Copenhagen,  and  later  at  the 


20 


Museum  of  Industrial  Art  in  Christiania  and  the  still  more 
recent  Open  Air  Folk  Museum  at  Bygdp. 

It  is  impossible  to  over-estimate  the  value  of  this  illu¬ 
minating  work.  The  fast  disappearing  fragments  of  an 
eloquent  and  absorbing  epoch  were  assembled  and  placed 
upon  permanent  record.  Handicrafts  of  various  descriptions 
were  revived,  and  old  customs  and  the  spirit  of  a  sturdy, 
wholesome  past  were  kept  alive  and  can  never  be 
entirely  obliterated.  The  importance  of  what  has  been 
already  described  as  the  characteristically  objective  side  of 
this  great  movement  toward  self-discovery — which  in 
essence  was  merely  a  rediscovery — is  far  reaching.  Its 
effects  can  be  plainly  felt  in  numerous  widely  separated 
channels  of  activity,  and  not  least  in  the  province  of  the 
fine  arts.  It  has,  above  all,  taught  the  general  public  what 
the  Scandinavian  peoples  really  are,  and  thus  affords  the 
soundest  possible  basis  for  judging  that  art  which  they  to¬ 
day  produce  in  such  stimulating  richness,  abundance,  and 
variety.  It  is  work  evolved  under  such  conditions  which 
you  have  in  the  present  exhibition,  though  before  approach¬ 
ing  its  latest  manifestations  we  must  resume  a  little  more 
definitely  the  logical  sequence  of  development. 

The  painting  of  the  naturalistic  period,  which  is  best 
exemplified  in  the  robust,  veracious  excursions  of  Christian 
Krohg  into  the  social,  and  of  Bruno  Liljefors  into  the 
animal  world,  gradually  became  more  impressionistic  in  the 
hands  of  those  Paris-trained  men  to  whom  an  analysis  of  the 
shifting  play  of  light  seemed  for  the  time  being  the  end  and 
aim  of  pictorial  expression.  The  leading  exponents  of 
pleinairismwere  Krpyer  in  Denmark,  and  Diriks  in  Norway, 
the  latter  being  particularly  successful  in  his  ability  to  indi¬ 
cate  motion.  There  is  a  grandeur,  a  touch  of  Ossianesque 
power  and  solemnity,  in  certain  canvases  by  Diriks,  which 


21 


give  them  high  place  in  contemporary  Norwegian  painting. 
You  see  here  the  man  who  is  a  direct  descendant  of  centuries 
of  sea  rovers,  and  who  embodies  in  himself  and  his  work 
their  restless,  questing  spirit.  Modern  though  they  un¬ 
questionably  be  in  their  feeling  for  bright,  sparkling  tints 
and  dexterous  and  vivacious  surface  effects,  neither  Zorn 
nor  Thaulow,  two  of  the  most  facile  technicians  Scandinavia 
has  ever  boasted,  can  with  any  strictness  be  termed  Impres¬ 
sionists.  Few  of  the  Northerners,  in  point  of  fact,  are 
explicit  followers  of  the  impressionist  formula.  Broken  sur¬ 
faces  and  the  minute  and  often  meticulous  suggestion  of 
tonal  decomposition,  as  practised  by  the  Frenchmen,  are 
rare  in  the  work  of  these  artists  who  as  a  rule  prefer  a  more 
direct  and  flowing  brush  stroke.  Instead  of  carrying  mat¬ 
ters  as  far  as  the  pointellists,  most  of  them  merely  made  use 
of  the  spirit  of  the  new  gospel,  which  they  adapted  to  their 
several  needs  and  purposes.  The  Swedes  remained  quite 
as  Swedish  as  before,  and  in  Norway  you  see  even  as  early 
as  the  ’nineties  signs  of  a  reaction,  notably  in  the  restrained 
and  fervent  triumphs  of  the  new  romantic  movement,  fos¬ 
tered  by  the  late  Halfdan  Egedius,  and  to-day  exemplified  in 
the  deeply  personal  art  of  Harald  Sohlberg,  whose  canvases 
recall  in  their  zealous,  conscientious  craftsmanship  and  sub¬ 
dued  emotional  intensity  the  work  of  a  still  earlier  period. 
And  as  before  the  painter  did  not  stand  alone,  for  by  the 
side  of  Sohlberg  wrote  and  dreamed  with  delicate  ardour  the 
brothers  Thomas  and  Vilhelm  Krag,  who  have  enriched 
modern  Norwegian  prose  and  verse  with  some  of  its  rarest 
flowers  of  fancy  and  most  sensitive,  penetrant  observation. 

Although  after  Impressionism  logically  come  Post- 
Impressionism,  Expressionism,  and  all  the  other  isms  that 
latter-day  art  is  heir  to,  we  must  not  fail  to  recognize  the 
fact  that  two  veritable  precursors  of  what  is  now  termed  the 


22 


modern  movement,  not  alone  in  Scandinavian  painting,  but 
in  the  painting  of  Europe  as  well,  were  the  Dane,  Jens 
Ferdinand  Willumsen,  and  the  Norwegian,  Edvard  Munch. 
Both  Willumsen  and  Munch  are  innate  pathfinders.  If  you 
concede  a  hint  of  Raffaelli  in  certain  of  Willumsen’s  early 
Paris  studies  and  sketches,  and  a  touch  of  Christian  Krohg’s 
naturalistic  integrity  in  the  work  of  Munch’s  first  period, 
every  trace  of  early  dependence  was  lost  in  the  invigourating, 
defiant  canvases  that  shortly  followed.  Willumsen  soon 
discovered  that  Paul  Gauguin  possessed  a  more  progressive 
potency  than  did  the  narrowly  Parisian  painter  of  boulevard 
and  banlieu,  and  as  for  Munch,  he  had  merely  to  look  into 
his  own  tremulous  or  feverishly  exalted  soul  in  order  to 
summon  forth  a  myriad  teeming  pictorial  fancies.  In  Wil¬ 
lumsen  you  find,  amid  an  impetuous  torrent  of  creative  ex¬ 
uberance,  two  essentially  Danish  qualities — sanity  and 
humour.  In  Munch’s  art  one  is  confronted  with  an  acute 
hypersensitiveness  voiced  now  with  masterly  conviction, 
now  in  troubled,  tortured  accents.  A  profound  awe,  a 
cosmic  fear,  is  the  keynote  of  these  canvases.  He  is  as  a 
child  who  sees  terror  in  the  most  familiar  shapes,  or  a  man 
who  shudders  on  the  brink  of  an  abyss,  obsessed  with  the 
eternal  mysteries  of  life,  desire,  and  death. 

Matters  have  lately  moved  so  fast  in  the  field  of  art  that 
men  whose  names  half  a  dozen  years  ago  were  considered 
the  synonym  of  modernity,  to-day  find  themselves  occupying 
a  relatively  middle  position.  Among  these  may  be  men¬ 
tioned  the  two  superlatively  talented  Norwegians,  Henrik 
Lund  and  Ludvig  Karsten.  They  are  both  fluent,  brilliant 
draughtsmen,  and  colourists  of  rare  power  and  vivacity. 
The  work  of  Lund  in  particular  will  doubtless  command 
attention  through  its  spirited  verve  of  stroke  and  bold,  yet 
delicately  modulated  colour  values.  There  are,  however,  in 


23 


the  present  exhibition  still  more  advanced  notes.  The 
Danes,  Sigurd  Swane,  Edvard  Weihe,  and  Harald  Giersing, 
go  even  a  step  further,  while  in  the  two  canvases  by  Per 
Krohg  you  have  the  ideals  of  the  Salon  des  Independants, 
plus  a  certain  touch  of  Northern  seriousness  and  sobriety. 

There  is  scant  question  but  that  certain  of  this  work  will 
seem  to  timorous  stay-at-homes  the  outcome  of  sheer,  wilful 
exaggeration  or  deliberate  perversity.  It  may  be  unpatri¬ 
otic  to  say  so,  but,  judged  by  current  European  standards, 
we  are  distinctly  behind  the  times  when  it  comes  to  the 
matter  of  esthetic  development.  Whatever  it  may  have 
accomplished  in  the  political  or  industrial  world,  our  much 
discussed  progressive  spirit  has  clearly  not  penetrated  the 
subtler  province  of  the  fine  arts.  Even  modest  and  ultra 
conservative  little  Copenhagen  has  had  its  glimpse  of  the 
Futurists,  while  copies  of  Der  Blaue  Reiter,  Der  Sturm,  and 
Les  Tendences  Nouvelles  are  eagerly  purchased  in  the 
more  prominent  book  shops.  While  it  is  true  that  we  have 
had  our  intermittently  illuminating  tabloid  exhibitions  at 
the  Photo-Secession,  nothing  is  yet  known  of  modern 
art  as  a  movement,  and  it  is  thus,  and  thus  alone,  that  it 
should  be  studied,  not  merely  from  isolated,  unrelated  sam¬ 
ples,  or  specimens  which  confuse,  without  in  the  least  degree 
clarifying,  the  popular  mind. 

It  is  obviously  too  soon  to  predict  with  any  measure  of 
precision  what  effect  the  Expressionist  propaganda  may 
ultimately  have  upon  Scandinavian  art  in  general.  One  can 
only  judge  by  what  has  taken  place  in  the  past.  And  yet 
one  thing  is  certain,  and  that  is  that  modernism  must  be 
reckoned  with  as  a  force  possessing  a  vitality  which  cannot 
readily  be  ignored  or  extinguished.  Copenhagen,  as  already 
noted,  has  lately  been  given  the  opportunity  to  judge  for 
itself.  Stockholm  boasts  its  Salon  Joel  and  The  Eight — 


24 


whose  leader  is  Isaac  Griinewald — while  in  Per  Krohg  and 
kindred  spirits  Christiania  possesses  its  isolated  but  earnest 
apostles  of  progress.  All  this  is  a  far  cry  from  the  crisp, 
inviolate  whiteness  of  Gustaf  Fjaestad’s  snow  scenes,  or 
the  quiescent  ambience  of  Vilhelm  Hammershpi’s  discreetly 
luminous  little  interiors.  It  is  also  far  from  the  sterling 
objectivity  of  Ring’s  closely  painted  landscapes,  and  from 
Sundborn,  the  bright-countenanced  scene  of  Carl  Larsson’s 
activity,  snugly  nestled  among  the  birches  of  Dalecarlia. 
We  have  pushed  rapidly  forward  during  the  past  decade, 
perhaps  a  bit  too  rapidly,  but  still  there  is  no  cause  for 
alarm,  since  that  which  holds  within  it  the  precious  secret 
of  permanency  will  survive,  and  that  which  is  inconsequen¬ 
tial  will  be  speedily  consigned  to  the  limbo  of  oblivion. 

There  is  one  fact  which  stands  clearly  forth  after  a 
comprehensive  survey  of  Scandinavian  painting,  and  it  is 
that,  no  matter  what  transitions  may  have  been  recorded 
during  successive  periods  of  development,  the  primal, 
elementary  basis  of  this  art  has  remained  unchanged.  It 
continues,  as  always,  full  of  tender  lyricism  and  heroic 
intensity.  It  is  the  typical  expression  of  a  race  whose 
civilization  is  young,  yet  whose  roots  lie  deep-anchored  in 
the  past,  and  whose  present  is  the  direct  product  of  certain 
definite,  prenatal  conditions.  And  not  only  does  the 
racial  factor  enter  largely  into  this  work,  but  back  of  it 
looms  a  still  more  sovereign  source  of  strength.  The 
marked  unity  of  tone — that  blond  clarity  so  characteristic 
of  the  North  which  you  will  instantly  recognize — is  merely 
one  phase  of  a  general  congruity  of  aim,  a  single  broad 
harmony  of  purpose  which  exists  between  the  land  itself 
and  its  people.  For  centuries  there  has  been  going  silently 
and  irresistibly  forward  a  subtle  process  of  interaction  be¬ 
tween  these  two  elements  which  is  reflected  alike  in  litera- 


25 


ture  and  in  art.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that  such 
facts  are  eloquently  manifest  in  the  work  herewith  under 
consideration.  You  instinctively  feel,  on  studying  these 
canvases,  an  exhilarating  sense  of  direct  communication 
with  nature  and  natural  forces.  You  note  the  naive 
zest  of  healthy,  unfatigued  sensibilities  for  fresh,  tonic 
colour  contrasts,  and  you  feel  the  thrill  of  eternal  aspiration 
in  this  fondness  for  great,  open  spaces  and  the  magic 
radiance  of  the  arctic  aurora.  From  the  very  outset  this 
sturdy,  sea-faring  and  forest-loving  folk  have  been  in  com¬ 
plete  consonance  with  their  surroundings.  And  we  can 
only  be  grateful  that  they  have  conveyed  their  esthetic 
message  in  terms  at  once  so  robustly  beautiful  and  so 
valiantly  autonomous. 

The  current  exhibition  which,  in  brief,  may  be  char¬ 
acterized  as  a  superb  demonstration  of  pictorial  pantheism, 
reveals  to  Americans  Scandinavian  art  as  it  actually  exists. 
It  is  distinctly  more  progressive  than  retrospective  or 
reminiscent  in  spirit,  and  in  being  so  is  all  the  more  true 
to  artistic  conditions  as  they  obtain  to-day  in  the  three 
countries  represented.  Face  to  face  with  these  stimulating, 
colourful  canvases,  you  will  doubtless  find  much  to  admire, 
and  not  a  little  that  may  prove  disconcerting.  Yet  you 
must  bear  in  mind  one  important  thing,  and  that  is  to  look 
at  each  separate  picture,  in  as  far  as  possible,  with  the  eyes 
of  the  man  who  painted  it.  His  vision  is  more  individual, 
his  soul  more  vigorously  or  subtly  expressive  than  yours, 
and  it  is  your  duty  to  take  his  message  on  faith,  in  case 
you  do  not  at  first  comprehend  it.  For  it  has  always  been, 
and  will  always  be,  the  artist’s  mission  to  lead,  and  the 
public’s  privilege  to  follow. 


26 


THE  ART  OF  SWEDEN 

By  CARL  G.  LAURIN,  of  Stockholm 

IT  IS  not  until  comparatively  late  that  Sweden  makes  her 
appearance  in  European  art.  It  is  true  that  in  this 
country,  where  the  same  race  had  for  thousands  of  years 
lived  a  free  and  hardy  life,  there  had  existed  since  time 
immemorial  an  excellent  type  of  industrial  art,  which  still 
survives  in  our  textile  peasant  work,  and  which  produced 
bronze  ornaments  and  weapons  of  great  artistic  beauty 
even  before  Christian  times.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
twelfth  century  that  Christian  architecture  made  its  way 
up  to  us,  and  as  for  Swedish  painting,  one  can  hardly  speak 
of  it  before  some  decades  after  New  York,  or,  more  properly, 
New  Amsterdam,  had  been  founded  by  the  same  industrious 
and  artistically  trained  Dutchmen,  who  in  painting  were 
the  leading  nation  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  from 
whom  Ehrenstrahl,  born  in  Hamburg,  1629,  and  called 
the  father  of  Swedish  painting,  received  instruction,  even 
though  the  pompous  Italo-German  baroque  style  was  to  be 
predominant  in  his  production.  Ehrenstrahl  painted  three 
great  sovereigns — Charles  X,  who  made  Sweden  great, 
his  son,  Charles  XI,  who  made  it  strong,  and  the  latter’s 
son,  Charles  XII,  who  made  it  honoured  the  world  over, 
and  for  whom  even  our  vast  country  was  too  small.  Sweden 
was  great,  but  the  population  was  scanty  and  poor,  and  the 


27 


eighteenth  century  was  for  us  a  much  needed  period  of 
economic  improvement.  Like  the  rest  of  Europe,  Sweden, 
too,  during  this  century,  turned  admiring  looks  on  the 
literary  and  artistic  culture  of  France,  which  also  politically 
had  been  our  traditional  ally  since  the  alliance  between 
Gustavus  Adolphus  II  and  Richelieu.  Among  the  Swedes 
who  won  for  themselves  honoured  and  famous  names  in 
Paris  were  the  pastel  painter,  Gustaf  Lundberg,  the  por¬ 
trait  painter,  Alexander  Roslin,  the  miniaturist,  Hall,  the 
gouache  painter,  Nils  Lafrensen  the  younger,  called 
Lavreince,  and  K.  G.  Pilo.  Our  first  and  greatest  sculptor, 
Sergei,  also  received  his  preliminary  training  in  the  French 
school,  though  the  then  prevailing  passion  for  the  antique 
was  to  chill  like  a  cold  blast  the  warm,  sensual  treatment 
of  marble  which  was  at  first  characteristic  of  him. 

It  might  appear  as  though  this  Gustavian — for  it  gathered 
round  King  Gustavus  III — this  bright,  technically  thorough, 
and  elegant  art  had  been,  so  to  speak,  put  to  flight  by  the 
pistol  shot  at  the  masked  ball  at  the  Stockholm  Opera  in 
1792,  when  Gustavus  III  was  murdered.  But  the  real  cause 
was  that  the  times  had  everywhere  changed.  Modern 
classicism,  and  almost  simultaneously,  romanticism,  now 
entered  the  arena.  Reynolds’s  pupil,  K.  F.  von  Breda, 
visualizes  the  new  aspect  of  the  times  in  his  portraits,  at 
once  dignified  and  romantic.  During  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury  Swedish  painting  was  under  the  sway  of  the  tendencies 
prevalent  in  European  art  at  large,  and  we  find  among 
the  painters  excellent  representatives  of  romanticism, 
among  the  most  prominent  of  which  may  be  mentioned 
August  Malmstrom.  In  the  middle  of  the  century  the 
Diisseldorf  genre  had  admirable  exponents  in  Fagerlin  and 
A.  Jernberg,  and  in  landscape  art  Reinhold  Norstedt  ap¬ 
pears  as  a  genuine  Swedish  successor  of  the  Fontainebleau 


28 


school.  In  historical  painting,  as  it  had  been  developed  in 
Munich,  Brussels,  and  Paris,  under  the  influence  of  deep 
studies  in  museums,  J.  Hockert,  J.  Kronberg,  G.  von  Rosen 
and  G.  Cederstrom  are  well  worthy  to  be  placed  alongside 
good  German,  Belgian,  and  French  historical  painters. 
Georg  von  Rosen’s  portraits,  with  their  lofty  and  noble 
style  and  their  subtle  interpretation  of  character,  are  works 
of  great  and  enduring  value,  and  will  bear  comparison 
with  those  of  Lenbach. 

The  year  1885  marks  a  new  epoch  in  modern  Swedish  art. 
A  group  of  young  artists  who  had  studied  painting  in  Paris 
under  the  guidance  of  French  masters,  and  who  had  come 
under  the  influence  of  Manet,  Bastien-Lepage,  and  Cazin, 
exhibited  their  works  in  the  spring  and  autumn  of  1885  at 
Stockholm.  They  severed  themselves  from  the  Academy 
of  Art  and  its  method  of  teaching,  found  fault  with  its  lack 
of  interest  in  the  arrangement  of  exhibitions,  and  accord¬ 
ingly  adopted  the  name  of  “Opponents.”  Some  of  these 
artists  joined  together  in  1886,  and  called  their  association 
the  Konstnarsforbundet,  or  Artists’  Association.  To  this 
organization  belong,  or  have  belonged,  most  of  the  best 
Swedish  artists  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
though  some  of  them,  it  is  true,  were  members  of  it  only 
for  a  short  time. 

Their  greatest  painter,  though  a  somewhat  erratic  type, 
was  Ernst  Josephson,  a  combative  character,  full  of 
melancholy  and  defiance,  who  became  insane  as  early  as 
1887.  His  picture  Stromkarlen — The  Water-Sprite — in 
the  possession  of  Prince  Eugen,  reflects  both  in  subject  and 
execution  the  quintessence  of  the  life  and  work  of  this  man 
of  undoubted  genius.  Among  those  who  returned  home 
from  France,  bringing  with  them  light  and  joy,  and  having 
acquired  a  marvellous  skill  of  hand,  which  enabled  them  to 


29 


give  a  still  more  concise  expression  to  the  impressions 
from  their  own  country  with  which  they  were  teeming,  were 
Carl  Larsson  and  Anders  Zorn.  Another  great  artist,  whom 
it  is  always  customary  to  mention  with  them,  is  Bruno 
Liljefors. 

One  must  know  Sweden  very  intimately  in  order  to 
understand  how  it  is  that  these  three  artists,  above  all 
others,  have  won  the  hearts  of  the  Swedish  people.  Carl 
Larsson  paints  the  home  with  all  the  associations  of  happi¬ 
ness  and  sunshine,  of  children  and  flowers,  that  the  word 
calls  up.  Zorn,  again,  is  pre-eminently  the  painter  of  the 
Dalecarlian  people,  that  sturdy  stronghold  of  the  Swedish 
nation  and,  withal,  of  the  Swedish  peasant  woman,  full  of 
health,  vigour  and  unconscious  sensuality,  and  fresh  and 
hearty  as  a  ripe  cherry.  Liljefors,  in  turn,  reveals  to  us 
the  forest  with  its  mysterious  life.  No  one  has  felt  such 
deep  sympathy  as  he  with  Swedish  nature,  with  foxes, 
eagles,  ducks,  loons,  and  other  birds  and  beasts  following 
the  instincts  of  their  kind  in  the  solitude  of  the  primeval 
forest.  The  Swedish  people  have  always  loved  to  penetrate 
nature’s  secrets.  Linnaeus,  Swedenborg,  Celsius,  Berzelius, 
and  Arrhenius  are  in  this  respect  the  true  children  of  a 
people  whose  science,  poetry,  and  art  have  refreshed  them¬ 
selves,  with  almost  religious  ardour,  at  the  maternal  breasts 
of  nature.  This  absorption  in  the  universe  is  also  seen  in 
the  paintings  of  Eugene  Jansson.  Though  there  is  a  touch 
of  lyrical  delicacy  in  his  work,  there  is  a  breadth  and  a 
grandeur  about  it  which,  to  my  mind,  are  unique  in  the  art 
of  our  time. 

With  austere,  manly  defiance,  which  at  certain  periods 
has  appeared  harsh  and  gloomy,  but  which  has  now  dis¬ 
solved  into  an  intense  revelling  in  colour,  this  same  feeling 
for  nature  comes  to  light  in  Karl  Nordstrom,  at  present 


30 


the  strong  hand  that  holds  together  the  painters  who  have 
remained  in  Konstnarsforbundet.  The  art  of  Nils  Kreuger 
is  deliberate,  composed,  and  reliable.  He  has  delineated  the 
domestic  animals  as  they  live  in  the  open — cows  placidly 
chewing  their  cud  in  juicy  green  pastures,  shy  horses,  and 
stupid  sheep.  Seldom  have  realism  and  monumentality 
grown  into  one  as  in  the  pictures  of  Krueger.  We  have 
too  few  figure  painters  in  current  Swedish  art.  Prominent 
among  them  is  Richard  Bergh,  our  foremost  modern  por¬ 
trait  painter,  whose  likenesses  of  Strindberg  and  the  poet 
Froding  are  a  study  for  the  psychologist  as  well  as  for  the 
art  lover.  Bergh  does  not  paint  much,  but  what  he  paints 
is  usually  of  real  significance.  He  is  at  once  a  thinker  and 
an  artist,  without,  as  is  often  the  case,  allowing  the  former 
to  encroach  upon  the  latter.  A  faithful  depictor  of  the  life 
of  the  Swedish  people  is  Carl  Wilhelmson.  With  thin, 
bright  colours  he  paints  the  lean  peasant  girls,  and  has 
discovered  a  kind  of  beauty  in  things  poor  and  scanty. 
The  exact  antithesis  to  him  in  all  but  the  bright  colours  is 
Gosta  von  Hennigs,  whose  canvases  are  veritable  orgies  in 
red  and  blue.  He  is  intoxicated  by  colour — colour  for  its 
own  sake.  The  subjects  he  is  most  addicted  to  are  clowns, 
dancing  girls,  and  other  picturesque  types  outside  the  pale 
of  prim  and  respectable  society. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  Sweden  at  present  is  not  merely 
an  art  producing,  but  also  an  art  loving  country,  and  a 
country  where  art  is  bought.  If  struggle  means  life,  we 
have  been  very  much  alive  in  art  during  the  last  twenty 
years.  Unfortunately,  there  has  been  rife  among  us  far  too 
much  of  the  spirit  of  dogmatism  and  bias,  and  this  spirit  has 
often  hindered  us  from  uniting  our  forces  and  appearing  in 
full  muster  when  it  has  been  a  question  of  exhibiting  all  of 
our  best,  either  at  home  or  abroad. 


31 


In  virtue  of  his  high  position  and  his  universally  acknowl¬ 
edged  artistic  talent,  through  his  judicious  patronage  of  art, 
and  not  least  by  virtue  of  his  personal  amiability,  Prince 
Eugen,  whose  whole  bent  is  toward  the  ideals  represented 
by  the  Konstnarsforbundet,  has  exerted  a  most  beneficial 
influence.  In  his  beauiful  home  in  Djurgarden  Park  there 
is  an  excellent  collection  of  modern  Swedish  art.  And  here 
he  paints  pictures  in  which,  with  discreet  passion,  if  the 
expression  be  permitted,  he  gives  a  personal  expression  to 
nature,  particularly  the  Swedish  summer  night,  with  all  its 
lyrical  harmony. 

It  is  only  in  the  northernmost  parts  that  Sweden  is  a 
mountainous  country;  otherwise  it  is  a  land  of  forests  and 
lakes,  and  few  have  depicted  the  wide  prospects  over  blue 
ridges  in  the  far  distance  as  has  Otto  Hesselbom.  G.  Kall- 
stenius  paints  pine  forests  and  lakes  so  as  to  make  one 
almost  feel  the  smell  of  resin  and  the  cool  shade  under  the 
trees,  and  Gunnar  Hallstrom  lends  a  true  Swedish  char¬ 
acter  to  the  waters  of  Lake  Malaren  and  the  stolid,  earnest 
peasant  culture  which  obtains  thereabouts.  Sweden  is 
indeed  a  peasant  country,  and  we  are  proud  to  possess  a 
race  of  peasants  which  has  for  thousands  of  years  been 
healthy,  free,  and  self-reliant.  The  humour  of  Swedish 
peasant  life  has  its  artistic  interpreter  in  Albert  Engstrom, 
a  man  admired  all  over  Sweden — admired  for  his  quaint, 
untranslateable  verse,  his  prose  which  in  national  pith  and 
vigour  is  unequalled  by  that  of  any  living  Swede,  and  not 
least  for  his  drawings,  in  which  he  has  revealed  to  us  the 
very  fundamentals  of  our  being. 

Three  of  our  sculptors  are  clearly  in  the  front  rank. 
Foremost  perhaps  is  Carl  Milles,  a  sculptor  of  genius,  a 
man  bubbling  over  with  creative  power,  and  endowed  with 
monumental  force.  Alongside  of  him  stands  Christian 


32 


Eriksson.  A  consummate  artist  in  all  he  touches,  whether 
small  or  great,  particularly  in  his  treatment  of  surfaces,  he 
has  the  feeling  for  nature  and  the  love  of  detail  so  character¬ 
istic  of  the  sculptors  of  the  Early  Renaissance.  Eriksson’s 
best  works  are  his  big  reliefs  on  the  walls  of  the  new  Dra¬ 
matic  Theatre  in  Stockholm,  but  his  characteristic  Lapp 
subjects  in  wood,  bronze,  or  stone,  also  bear  abundant 
testimony  to  his  originality  and  taste.  Woman  has  a 
glowing  interpreter  in  the  sculptor,  Eldh,  who  has  also 
admirably  depicted  the  complicated  type  of  the  woman- 
hater  as  exemplified  in  Strindberg. 

In  this  brief  review,  where  regard  has  been  paid  only  to 
the  very  best,  there  has  not  been  room  even  for  the  names 
of  many  Swedes  who  are  endeavouring  to  give  personal  form 
to  those  elements  which  the  people  of  our  nation  especially 
love  and  admire.  For  small  nations,  even  more  than  for 
big  ones,  quality  is  a  matter  of  supreme  and  vital  import¬ 
ance,  particularly  in  the  province  of  the  mind,  where  the 
small  nations’  ,  thinking  or  thirst  for  beauty  may  sometimes 
bring  forth  one  supreme  master— a  Plato,  or  a  Rembrandt — 
outweighing  all  that  has  been  produced  for  centuries  in  the 
same  department  in  different  quarters  of  the  world.  The 
Swedish  historian  Gejier  maintains  that  every  one  can  do 
something  better  than  any  one  else.  I  believe  this  to  be 
also  true  of  nations,  and  I  believe  that  the  great  world- 
symphony  is  decidedly  enriched  by  the  chords,  the  hymns, 
of  Swedish  clang-colour  which  our  people  set  up  in  praise 
of  beauty — beauty  as  our  eyes  see  it. 


33 


THE  ART  OF  DENMARK 

An  Epistolary  Preface 

By  KARL  MADSEN 

Director  of  the  Royal  Gallery,  Copenhagen 

My  Dear  Christian  Brinton: 

SURELY  you  still  remember  the  Pavilon  on  Langelinie 
where  two  or  three  times  we  lunched  so  congenially 
together.  Through  the  great  windows  of  the  restaurant  we 
had  an  outlook  eastward  over  the  Sound  and  the  ships, 
westward  over  the  tranquil  moat  to  the  green  trees  of  the 
Citadel,  where  we  heard  at  times  a  blackbird’s  whistle.  In 
the  restaurant,  near  the  entrance,  sat  loyal  German  tourists 
with  beer  mugs  and  souvenir  postcards.  At  other  tables 
my  countrymen  were  laughing  at  their  own  jokes.  We 
Danes  are — as  you  correctly  observed — a  people  who  are 
fond  of  amusing  ourselves,  and  who  do  not  think  very  much 
about  the  morrow;  indeed,  altogether  too  little.  Some¬ 
times,  however,  on  beautiful  summer  evenings  you  will  meet 
people  here  who,  silent  and  dreaming,  gaze  out  over  the 
sea.  This,  also,  is  perhaps  characteristic  of  our  nation. 
We  have  grown  up  with  Andersen’s  Fairy  Tales,  and  have 
had  other  good  authors  with  whom  you  are  doubtless 
familiar. 

When  from  Langelinie  I  see  the  beautiful  clouds  floating 
over  a  gently  rocking  sea,  I  often  find  myself  recalling  an 


34 


artist  who,  near  a  hundred  years  ago,  long  before  the 
Pavilon  was  built  and  souvenir  postcards  were  invented, 
went  modestly  on  his  evening  walks  from  his  professor’s 
quarters  in  the  Academy  at  Kongens  Nytorv  out  to  this 
spot.  He  was  neither  poet  nor  dreamer.  His  sharp  eyes 
made  purely  scientific  observations  upon  the  formation  of 
clouds,  he  examined  the  construction  of  ships  with  the 
eye  of  a  professional,  and  sought  to  explain  the  laws  govern¬ 
ing  the  perspective  of  the  shifting  waves.  The  artistic 
ambition  of  this  upright  soul  was  to  give  the  most  precise 
picture  possible  of  nature,  as  true  as  a  mirror.  His  can¬ 
vases  are  old-fashioned;  all  objects  present  themselves  as 
though  seen  through  a  strong  field  glass,  but  the  tones  are 
fine  and  clear  as  day.  When  I  now  look  from  Langelinie  out 
across  the  sea,  Danish  painting  in  later  years  does  not  seem 
to  have  produced  works  that,  in  striking  fidelity  to  nature, 
surpass  those  of  Eckersberg. 

And  over  there  in  the  Citadel  behind  the  tranquil  moat 
his  pupil,  Kjsrbke,  had  his  home.  Even  to-day,  both  in  fact 
and  in  the  art  of  KjoLke,  these  old  fortifications  are  an 
idyllic  spot.  His  sister’s  pink  dress  against  the  green  trees 
of  the  rampart,  the  sunshine  on  an  empty  wagon  in  the 
Citadel  bakery  yard,  the  Dannebrog  flying  over  a  boat 
landing,  or  a  pair  of  poplars  in  the  twilight,  were  for  K.erbke 
motives  sufficiently  rich  in  interest.  You,  dear  Mr. 
Brinton,  at  once  understood  how  to  value  his  pictures  from 
these  realms  of  peace,  his  portraits  of  relatives,  friends,  and 
plain  townsfolk.  They  are  as  modest  and  unpretentious  as 
the  violets  on  the  Citadel  terrace. 

When  Marstrand,  K^rbke’s  contemporary  and  fellow- 
pupil  under  Eckersberg,  walked  here  on  Langelinie,  he 
looked,  I  fancy  with  greater  interest  upon  the  promenaders 
than  on  the  sea  and  the  Citadel.  Here  he  must  have  met 


35 


young  girls,  whose  graceful  necks,  blushing  cheeks,  and 
bright  eyes  reminded  him  of  the  beautiful  women  of 
Rome — unforgettable  memories  of  his  youthful  student 
days.  Here,  too,  he  met  droll  Copenhagen  types,  who 
served  as  capital  models  for  his  character  figures  from 
Holberg’s  comedies,  and  perhaps,  also,  the  tall,  gaunt 
officers  he  may  have  used  for  his  representations  of  Don 
Quixote.  Marstrand,  the  most  richly  endowed  and  many- 
sided  of  our  older  painters,  had  himself  the  noble  knight’s 
thirst  for  lofty  deeds.  His  sketches  and  drawings  show  a 
vast  range  of  happy  inspiration,  but  when  he  had  to  carry 
out  his  work  according  to  the  demands  of  the  time,  evil  and 
invincible  forces  paralyzed  his  hand.  The  colouring  became 
crude,  the  form  characterless,  the  features  rigid,  and  life 
itself  had  departed. 

During  this  entire  period  exact  execution  was  regarded 
as  the  hallmark  of  respectable  painting.  In  all  our  art,  from 
Eckersburg  down,  this  was  held  in  highest  honour.  It  was 
the  flowering  time  of  the  so-called  national  art.  Poets 
had  sung  the  praises  of  the  fatherland,  and  an  eloquent 
critic  pointed  out  the  importance  of  purely  native  themes. 
Landscape  painters  sought  to  epitomize  the  peculiar 
beauty  of  Danish  nature.  Genre  painters  glorified  the 

• 

Danish  peasantry.  Art,  they  held,  should  be  Danish  in 
form  as  well  as  content,  and  borrow  nothing  from  other 
nations.  In  our  separation  from  the  world  many  virtues 
flourished,  but  also  many  vices,  for  of  course  men  ought 
to  strive  to  be  themselves,  yet,  as  Henrik  Ibsen  says, 
only  the  devil  is  self-sufficient.  And  so,  when  Danish  paint¬ 
ing  came  to  be  exhibited  at  the  World’s  Exposition  at  Paris 
in  1878,  it  made  such  a  sorry  showing  that  an  old  Danish 
artist  seriously  believed  that  the  canvases  were  covered 
with  dust,  which  had  been  overlooked  in  cleaning.  It  stuck 


36 


so  tight  and  thick  that  they  seemed  lustreless,  poor  in  colour, 
and  strangely  antiquated.  For  this  reason  several  young 
Danish  painters  went  to  school  in  Paris  and  in  due  course 
brought  home  new  conceptions  of  the  aim  of  painting. 
Later,  other  Danish  artists,  when  they  had  opportunity, 
have  looked  about  in  the  world,  though  it  cannot  be  said 
that  they  have  learned  overmuch  from  foreign  art. 

We  are  a  little  nation,  and  our  national  independence  is 
for  us  the  most  precious  quality  we  possess.  A  local  news¬ 
paper  has  recently  given  some  sound  advice  regarding  the 
forthcoming  exhibition  of  Danish  art  in  America.  Regard 
for  the  purely  artistic  merit  of  the  canvases  ought,  as  a 
matter  of  principle,  to  be  subordinated.  It  is  far  more 
important  that  the  pictures  bear  the  familiar  national 
stamp.  As  yet  I  do  not  definitely  know  how  the  exhib¬ 
ition  which  is  shortly  to  be  placed  before  the  tribunal  of 
America  will  be  constituted.  But  I  know  that  you,  dear 
Mr.  Brinton,  have  wished  that  it  might  be  free  from 
banalities.  You  have  preferred  the  characteristic  to  the 
commonplace,  the  fresh  to  the  dusty,  the  vigorous  to  the 
vapid.  You  have  sought  to  combine  that  which  in  your 
opinion  is  good  art  with  that  which  recommends  itself  as 
national. 

And  in  any  event  the  exhibition  would  not  have  lacked 
the  national  impress.  This  factor  does  not  depend  upon  a 
peculiar  manner  of  treatment  or  style  of  painting;  Tiepolo 
is  just  as  Italian  as  Botticelli.  Nor  does  the  national  note 
depend  upon  subject.  Every  good  artist  expresses  his 
nationality  in  new  forms.  The  invited  painters  are  all 
legitimate  children  of  their  land,  and  many  of  them  have 
inherited  some  of  their  best  qualities  from  those  same  art¬ 
ists  who,  beside  the  Sound  and  in  the  Citadel,  founded  the 
Danish  school  of  painting.  Truthfulness  is  quite  as  precious 


37 


to  Ring  as  to  Eckersberg,  and  Vilhelm  Hammersh-eri  has 
seen,  just  as  K^bke,  that  the  most  unobtrusive  lives  and 
the  simplest  scenes  and  incidents  can  contain  a  world  of 
marvellous  poetry. 

But  the  individual  characterization  of  these  painters  I 
resign  to  you,  my  dear  Mr.  Brinton.  You  have  studied  our 
art  with  a  sympathetic  interest  and  understanding  for 
which  I  offer  you  my  heartfelt  thanks. 

Yours  sincerely, 

KARL  MADSEN. 


38 


THE  ART  OF  NORWAY 

By  JENS  THUS 

Director  of  the  National  Gallery,  Christiania 

ON  FESTIVE  occasions  we  Norwegians  are  prone  to 
speak  of  “Old  Norway,”  yet  to  tell  the  truth  there  is 
much  that  is  both  young  and  new  in  “Old  Norway.”  Our 
national  painting — to  mention  one  instance — is  by  no 
means  old  in  years,  for  it  was  not  until  after  the  dissolution 
of  the  union  with  Denmark  that  the  nation  awoke  to  con¬ 
sciousness  and  began  to  assert  its  independence  in  the 
domain  of  art.  In  less  than  a  generation  from  that  time — 
1814 — a  little  band  of  painters  appeared,  who  in  popular 
opinion  stood  out  clearly  as  a  true  Norwegian  school, 
although  every  member  of  the  group  had  obtained  his 
artistic  education  abroad,  and  was  still  obliged  to  seek  a 
livelihood  there.  At  home  in  Norway  the  people  were 
wholly  engrossed  in  the  struggle  to  improve  the  economic 
position  of  the  country,  and  secure  her  political  indepen¬ 
dence  under  the  new  union  with  Sweden.  Hence  many 
years  passed  before  this  little  band  of  Norwegian  artists 
could  find  a  footing  on  their  native  soil.  Yet  although 
every  member  of  the  older  school  of  Norwegian  painters 
obtained  his  training  in  German  academies — Dresden,  Diis- 
seldorf,  or  Munich — and  to  a  great  extent  resided  in  foreign 
countries,  they  nevertheless  painted  the  homeland,  and  by 


39 


means  of  summer  visits  and  frequent  journeys  to  the 
mother  country,  they  maintained  a  connection  with  the 
people  and  the  scenery  which  was  reflected  in  their  art. 

No  Norwegian  painter  is  more  worthy  of  mention  in  a 
rapid  survey  of  the  history  of  our  art  than  Johan  Christian 
Dahl,  the  father  of  our  painting.  Not  only  chronologi¬ 
cally,  but  in  precedence,  he  stands  in  the  front  rank,  as  the 
earliest  and  one  of  the  most  inspired  interpreters  of  Nor¬ 
wegian  scenery.  In  an  artistic  sense,  Dahl  was  the  dis¬ 
coverer  of  Norwegian  landscape.  Although  as  professor  of 
the  Academy  at  Dresden  he  was  obliged  to  live  far  from  his 
native  land,  he  never  ceased  to  interpret  and  glorify  Norway 
in  his  art.  During  his  summer  journeys  he  traversed  the 
valleys  and  mountain  wilds,  sailed  the  long  coast  and 
penetrated  the  deep  fiords,  so  that  later  he  might  return  to 
his  studio  at  Dresden  with  a  rich  harvest  of  studies  that 
were  wonderfully  fresh  in  treatment,  and  true  in  colouring. 
Dahl  died  at  Dresden  the  14  October,  1857.  He  was  the 
Constable  of  Norwegian  art,  and  one  of  the  greatest  figures 
among  European  landscape  painters  of  that  period.  Dahl’s 
talented  pupil,  Fearnley,  followed  in  his  master’s  footsteps, 
and  gave  greater  decorative  effect  to  the  healthy  poetic 
naturalism  of  the  older  artist.  But  Fearnley  died  young, 
just  as  his  art  reached  its  zenith,  and  thereby  the  line  of 
tradition  from  Dahl  was  broken,  and  the  further  develop¬ 
ment  of  Norwegian  painting  considerably  retarded. 

The  next  group  of  painters,  which  appeared  in  the  ’forties, 
and  influenced  the  character  of  Norwegian  art  for  nearly 
twenty  years,  sought  its  education  in  the  studios  of  Diissel- 
dorf.  At  that  time  a  new  romantic  school  was  predominant 
there,  differing  from  Dahl’s  fresh,  natural  romanticism  in  its 
more  literary  and  eclectic  outlook,  with  a  preference  for  the 
theatrical,  the  sentimental,  and  a  pretentious  magnificence 


40 


of  colouring.  Nevertheless,  the  period  of  Norwegian  art 
which  followed — -the  Diisseldorf  Period — must  in  certain 
respects  be  regarded  as  a  sort  of  golden  age,  rich  in  talent, 
and  in  definite  harmony  with  other  movements  in  our 
national  culture.  The  time  immediately  before  and  after 
the  July  Revolution  was  a  period  of  reawakening  after  the 
days  of  affliction  that  succeeded  the  war  and  the  union 
of  1814.  The  courage  which  long  had  lain  crushed  under 
financial  troubles  and  political  difficulties  now  rose  and 
expanded  during  the  so-called  Patriotic  Period.  Recovered 
freedom,  growing  independence,  and  the  glorious  traditions 
of  the  past  which  the  nation  was  now  ambitious  of  main¬ 
taining,  inspired  the  people  with  faith  in  the  powers  of 
their  country  and  themselves,  a  faith  which  found  focus 
in  the  personality  of  that  great  poet  and  national  leader, 
Henrik  Wergeland.  Alike  in  verse  and  in  speech  all 
praised  the  “gallant  Norwegian  yeoman,”  and  his  rock- 
bound  land,  but  neither  the  yeoman  nor  his  country  were 
very  well  known  at  that  epoch.  Therefore,  in  the  ’forties, 
we  note  an  intense  desire  to  study  the  people  and  the 
country,  a  period  of  self-discovery  in  Norwegian  intellec¬ 
tual  life,  when  scholarship,  poetry,  and  art  went  hand 
in  hand,  each  being  accorded  equal  significance. 

Dahl  and  Fearnley,  it  is  true,  began  this  work  by  the 
discovery  of  Norwegian  mountain  scenery,  the  beauties  of 
the  fiords,  the  majesty  of  the  mountain  wilds,  and  the  pic¬ 
turesque  grandeur  of  waterfall.  But  as  yet  no  great  poet 
or  painter  had  really  approached  the  people.  The  character 
of  the  Norwegians  still  lay  hidden  and  obscure  in  the  dark¬ 
ness  of  the  saga  ages.  Hence  the  work  of  the  investigator 
was  needed,  and  a  desire  to  unite  the  past  with  the  present 
was  steadily  persistent  throughout  the  years  of  later 
romanticism  which  now  followed  in  Norway.  The  work  of 


41 


historical  research  was  begun,  its  most  famous  exponent 
being  P.  A.  Munch,  the  author  of  The  History  of  the 
Norwegian  People.  Simultaneously  began  the  systematic 
labour  of  investigating  and  preserving  the  great  monuments 
of  the  past,  and  of  collecting  the  rich  and  varied  treasures 
of  the  Norwegian  imagination.  It  was  in  those  years  that 
our  curious  wooden  churches  were  discovered,  and  our  fairy 
tales,  our  ancient  legends  and  folk  songs  were  collected  and 
interpreted,  while  our  composers  began  to  imbibe  at  the 
fountain  head  of  folk  melody. 

Nor  must  we  forget  such  painters  as  Tidemand  and  Gude, 
the  principal  representatives  of  the  Diisseldorf  school,  and 
the  only  really  popular  Norwegian  painters  of  the  older 
period.  Tidemand  desired  to  be  an  historical  painter,  and 
to  depict  our  heroic  age,  but  he  soon  perceived  that  there 
was  a  task  nearer  at  hand  which  no  one  thus  far  had 
attempted— the  depiction  of  the  Norwegian  people  of  his 
own  time.  It  was  thus  that  Tidemand  selected  the  special 
field  from  which  he  rarely  departed,  that  of  painting  the 
life  and  surroundings  of  the  Norwegian  peasant.  Tide- 
mand’s  art  suffers  from  the  same  faults  as  do  the  majority  of 
German  paintings  of  the  Romantic  Period — it  exhibits  the 
same  tendency  toward  the  literary  and  the  sentimental,  and 
it  reveals  the  same  undeveloped  colour  sense  and  lack  of 
individual  execution.  Nevertheless,  his  pictures  of  national 
life  proved  a  valuable  factor  in  the  onward  march  of 
Norwegian  culture. 

The  name  of  Hans  Gude  is  intimately  associated  with 
that  of  Tidemand,  and  the  two  artists  are  often  mentioned 
together.  The  younger  landscape  painter,  who  both  as 
friend  and  fellow-worker  stood  so  near  Tidemand,  is  the 
second  central  figure  in  Norwegian  painting  of  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  Gude’s  art  shows  a  wide  range. 


42 


He  portrayed  the  mountains  and  lakes,  the  narrow  fiords  of 
the  West,  and  the  smiling  landscapes  of  the  East — all  with 
happy,  harmonious  feeling,  and  a  keen  sense  of  the  idyllic. 
Gude  was  also  an  academy  teacher  of  high  repute,  first  in 
Diisseldorf,  later  in  Karlsruhe  and  Berlin,  and  as  such 
occupied  an  important  position  as  insturctor  of  the  younger 
generation. 

However,  during  the  ’seventies  the  young  Norwegian 
painters,  instead  of  turning  to  the  above  cities  for  edu¬ 
cation,  selected  the  new  art  center  at  Munich,  and  thither 
repaired  most  of  the  prominent  painters  of  about  the  year 
1880  who  were  destined  to  play  such  an  important  part  in 
the  development  of  native  art — e.g.,  the  “men  of  the 
’eighties” — Munthe,  Werenskiold,  Eilif  Peterssen,  Skredsvig, 
Kittelsen,  Harriet  Backer,  Kitty  Kielland,  etc.  Two  of 
the  most  gifted  members  of  the  same  generation,  Krohg 
and  Thaulow,  obtained  their  education  elsewhere,  Krohg 
in  Berlin  under  Gussow,  and  Thaulow  first  under  Gude  at 
Karlsruhe  and  later  in  Paris,  yet  in  spite  of  subsequent 
influences  from  other  quarters,  the  work  of  most  of  these 
painters  shows  traces  of  German  training. 

By  degrees,  however,  the  ties  that  bound  Norwegian 
painters  to  Germany  were  loosened.  Munthe  and  Isaach- 
sen,  the  two  senior  members  of  the  group,  were  the  earliest 
to  visit  Paris  and  to  receive  first-hand  impressions  of 
French  art,  and  just  as  this  latter  school  was  celebrating  its 
superiority  at  the  International  Exhibition  of  1878,  its  fame 
appears  to  have  reached  the  academy  students  at  Munich. 
Hence  after  the  year  1880  we  find  nearly  all  the  young 
Norwegian  painters  assembled  in  Paris,  eager  to  learn  and 
to  participate  in  the  fight  for  the  cause  of  modern  art. 

The  golden  age  of  naturalism  had  just  dawned.  The  old 
studio  traditions  were  broken,  Manet  had  propounded  a 


43 


new  and  fresher  view  of  reality,  and  with  his  inspired  tech¬ 
nique  had  made  giant  strides  toward  the  further  develop¬ 
ment  of  painting.  Simultaneously  Monet  had  revealed  the 
claims  of  landscape  painting  in  the  open  air  and  sunlight, 
and  was  engaged  in  preparing  a  new  and  cleaner  palette,  and 
in  developing  the  technique  of  impressionism  and  studying 
the  decomposition  of  colour  tones.  Even  though  our  Nor¬ 
wegian  painters  did  not  always  come  into  close  contact  with 
the  actual  exponents  of  the  new  art,  they  lived,  nevertheless, 
in  a  productive  period,  when  fresh  ideas  were  disseminated 
far  and  wide.  From  Paris  they  journeyed  northwards. 
About  the  year  1883  nearly  every  unit  of  our  artistic 
strength  was  gathered  in  Christiania,  determined  to  remain 
in  the  old  country,  to  work  and  struggle  at  home. 

We  now  enter  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  Norwegian 
painting.  The  Period  of  Emigration  is  past  and  the 
National  Period  begins.  The  younger  men  sought  to  free 
themselves  from  the  traditions  of  the  German  school,  from 
its  eclecticism  and  studio  taste,  its  dark  and  brownish 
colour.  From  this  time  forward  the  influence  of  France 
is  predominant,  even  though  foreign  technique  is  always 
adapted,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  requirements  of  our  own 
scenery  and  temperament.  Werenskiold  and  Gerhard 
Munthe,  in  particular,  displayed  a  firm  desire  to  Nor- 
wegianize  themselves,  and  under  their  guidance  a  new 
period  of  self-culture  was  introduced.  The  plain,  unroman¬ 
tic  landscape  of  the  East,  and  the  genuine,  realistic  Nor¬ 
wegian  peasant,  without  any  extraneous  adornment,  now 
appeared  for  the  first  time  in  Norwegian  painting. 

The  early  years  of  naturalism  in  Norway  were  both 
stormy  and  noisy.  The  air  resounded  with  shibboleths, 
war  cries,  taunts,  wranglings,  and  squabbles.  The  public 
was  quite  at  a  loss  for  a  clear  understanding  of  this  new 


44 


open-air  movement  in  landscape,  and  was  full  of  illwill  and 
bitterness  toward  this  naturalism  which  set  itself  the  task 
of  portraying  social  life  with  brutal  frankness,  without  pity 
or  mercy.  The  people  at  home  had  never  seen  other  art 
than  that  of  the  aftermath  of  the  German  romantic  school, 
and  it  is  small  wonder  that  this  fresh  tonality  and  free  hand¬ 
ling  were  completely  foreign  and  distasteful  to  them. 
Moreover,  the  lack  of  a  critic  with  a  right  understanding  of 
the  issues  at  stake  widened  and  deepened  the  gulf  that 
separated  the  public  and  the  painter. 

The  artists  themselves,  on  the  other  hand,  revelled  with 
no  little  delight  in  this  troubled  sea  of  contempt.  Seen 
from  the  outside,  their  fight  often  had  the  appearance  of  a 
torrent  of  youthful  outpourings  and  exaggerations.  These 
men  were  above  all  accused  of  being  one-sided,  but  they 
won  strength  in  proportion  as  they  developed  this  very 
quality,  for  behind  their  defiance  stood  a  sturdy  faith  in  the 
cause  for  which  they  struggled.  Better  fighters  were,  in¬ 
deed,  never  seen.  We  are  compelled  to  admire  the  courage 
and  fortitude  displayed  by  this  little  band,  crushed  as  they 
were  by  poverty,  accused  of  heresy,  and  despised  by  the 
world  at  large.  Yet  they  remained  undaunted.  They 
painted,  argued,  drank,  and  battled  bodily,  even, 'for  the 
new  gospel.  And  at  last  the  art  of  painting,  after  centuries 
of  thraldom  under  the  overpowering  prestige  of  the  old 
masters,  under  the  discipline  of  academies,  and  the 
formulae  of  pedantic  esthetes,  cast  off  its  fetters,  and 
dared  to  view  nature  directly  and  paint  her  as  she  really 
appeared. 

With  this  newborn  faith  in  actuality,  this  pantheistic 
enthusiasm  for  nature  and  truth,  the  men  of  the  ’eighties 
wrote,  spoke,  and  painted.  In  literature  the  main  themes 
were  social  problems  and  stormy  demonstrations  of  bellicose 


45 


individualism.  In  art  men  were  occupied  with  breaking 
tradition,  and  securing  a  victory  for  clear-eyed  reality. 
The  fight  against  the  public  and  press  was  wild  and  reckless, 
but  when  the  victory  was  won — comparatively  quickly — 
and  this  young,  radical  art  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  was 
not  only  tolerated  but  even  understood,  when  painting  in 
Norway  finally  achieved  official  recognition,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  it  was  the  result  of  the  artists’  courage  and 
sagacity,  yet  first  and  foremost  because  of  the  abundant 
talent  possessed  by  this  band,  a  generation  that  claimed 
Werenskiold,  Krohg,  Thaulow,  and  Munthe.  Nor  must  we 
forget  to  mention  the  rise  of  a  younger  group,  with  such  a 
genius  as  Edvard  Munch  at  its  head. 

Indeed,  the  ’eighties  produced  an  enormous  amount  of 
good  art — a  disproportionate  amount  in  fact,  for  so  small 
and  poor  a  nation  as  ours.  Undoubtedly  during  these 
years  both  painting  and  literature  flourished,  and  despite 
all  this  juvenility  and  bustle,  the  lives  and  struggles  of 
these  artists  were  traced  in  strong  and  characteristic  lines. 
The  very  idealism  which  they  scorned  by  name  was  in 
reality  their  inspiration — the  idealism  of  life,  action,  and 
opinion.  Yet  their  efforts  alone  could  not  have  achieved 
the  victory  so  quickly.  The  naturalistic  tendencies  of 
painting  had  as  a  background  our  national  development 
and  the  revolution  in  public  consciousness  that  took  place 
during  those  years.  The  artists  were  but  a  tiny  group  in 
the  advancing  army  which  at  that  period  forcibly  made  its 
way  through  traditional  barriers.  The  strong,  vital  cur¬ 
rents  of  thought  from  Ibsen’s  dramas  swept  through  the 
intellectual  life  of  Norway,  and  thence  across  that  of 
Europe.  The  fresh  mountain  breezes  that  issued  from  the 
verse  and  prose  of  Bj^rrnson,  the  caustic  fire  of  Georg 
Brandes’s  criticism,  the  passion  for  truth  in  the  works  of 


46 


Garborg  and  Jaeger,  the  wave  of  radicalism  that  mounted 
high  in  the  political  world — these  were  the  secret  forces  in 
the  background. 

This  background  shortly  developed  into  a  universal  one. 
Positivist  philosophy,  with  its  revaluation  of  old  values, 
scientific  research,  with  its  sobering  effect  in  all  departments 
of  intellectual  life — even  in  art — all  were  factors  in  the  case. 
People  began  to  pay  more  systematic  attention  to  the 
experiences  of  the  senses,  and  naturalism  waxed  strong  in 
art,  becoming  a  kind  of  twin  brother  to  empiricism  in  science. 
We  feel  that  democracy  is  the  soil  from  which  all  these 
movements  sprang,  spreading  restlessly  about  on  all  sides, 
seething  with  discontent  and  with  dreams  of  happiness.  A 
longing  for  social  revolution  everywhere  makes  itself  felt, 
and  the  revival  of  Norwegian  painting  in  the  ’eighties  was 
merely  a  reflection  of  those  deep-seated  currents  of  thought 
that  surged  back  and  forth  at  this  period. 

The  most  prominent  painters  in  the  fighting  line  of  the 
naturalists  were  Thaulow,  Krohg,  Werenskiold,  and  Munthe. 
Of  these  Frits  Thaulow  first  entered  the  lists,  and  was  also 
the  first  to  withdraw  and  turn  his  back  upon  the  narrow 
artistic  conditions  of  his  native  country.  Thaulow  was  a 
typical  cosmopolitan  with  a  refined  and  elegant  taste  for 
colour,  who  did  not  feel  at  home  among  the  naturalists  with 
their  bold  strength  and  unadorned  truth.  Weary  of  the 
rank  smell  of  earth,  so  attractive  to  the  open-air  school,  he 
returned  in  his  latter  years  to  the  studio,  where,  with  dainty 
touch  and  technical  cleverness,  he  won  for  himself  a  Euro¬ 
pean  reputation,  and  for  his  productions  a  large  market  in 
America. 

Christian  Krohg  is  gifted  in  quite  another  direction. 
Originally  a  bold  and  vigorous  colourist,  he  reached,  under 
the  influence  of  Manet,  a  higher  measure  of  picturesque 


47 


strength  and  raciness  than  any  other  Norwegian  painter 
before  or  since.  Moreover,  he  evinced  decided  social 
sympathies,  both  as  painter  and  journalist,  and  above  all 
regarded  art  as  a  reflex  of  society.  His  work  was  charac¬ 
terized  by  actuality,  frequently  with  a  definite  purpose;  he 
usually  selecting  strongly  marked  types  and  a  genuinely 
veracious  milieu.  Krohg  was  first  and  foremost  the  demo¬ 
cratic  portrayer  of  modern  social  life,  especially  of  the 
Christiania  proletariat,  but  at  the  same  time  he  found  a 
special  field  in  depicting  seafaring  life,  and  in  particular  in 
painting  the  old  Norwegian  pilots  with  remarkable  sym¬ 
pathy  and  skill. 

The  third,  and  in  certain  respects  the  most  significant 
figure  in  the  art  of  the  ’eighties,  was  Erik  Werenskiold,  a 
painter  who  despite  his  fifty-eight  years  still  retains  his 
full  vigour,  and  keeps  abreast  even  of  the  younger  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  school,  always  unprejudiced  and  clear-sighted 
with  regard  to  the  relative  status  of  modern  painting.  In 
Werenskiold’s  artistic  temperament  we  find  strength  of 
purpose,  cool  calculation,  and  a  quiet,  happy  enthusiasm. 
He  is  a  mixture  of  the  logician  and  the  lyrist.  The  fame 
of  Werenskiold  as  an  artist  is  chiefly  connected  with  his 
now  classic  illustrations  to  Norwegian  fairy  tales,  in  which 
he  depicts  each  story  with  a  happy  insight  into  the  char¬ 
acter  of  the  people,  and,  as  it  were,  sees  with  the  eyes  of 
a  peasant.  With  masterly  tact  the  scenes  are  laid  in  an 
indefinite  yet  not  very  distant  past,  imagination  and  real¬ 
ity  alternating  and  supplementing  each  other  in  the  most 
delightful  manner.  As  a  painter  Werenskiold  has  divided 
his  talents  between  a  portrayal  of  the  Norwegian  peasant 
in  a  typically  Norwegian  landscape  and  portrait  painting. 
His  artistic  development  has  proceeded  evenly  and  without 
lapses,  yet  marked  by  constant  experiment  and  self-reno- 


48 


vation  as  to  newer  tendencies,  so  that  of  late  he  has 
unreservedly  espoused  the  modern  movement  in  its  striving 
after  strength  of  colouring  and  decorative  effect. 

Gerhard  Munthe  early  joined  the  three  pioneer  painters 
mentioned  above  and,  in  fact,  constituted  the  rarest 
element  in  the  resulting  quartette.  He  is  Norway’s  fore¬ 
most  landscape  artist  of  the  naturalistic  period,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  is  the  imaginative  renewer  and  recreator  of 
our  present-day  decorative  art,  conceived  in  the  old  Norse 
spirit.  It  is  a  matter  for  sincere  regret  that  this  original 
and  stimulating  talent  is  not  represented  in  our  exhibition. 

The  whole  artistic  development  of  the  ’eighties  culmi¬ 
nated,  however,  about  1890,  in  the  work  of  Edvard  Munch, 
unquestionably  the  most  gifted  of  all  Norwegian  painters. 
With  his  intuitive  genius,  the  profound  spiritual  depths 
of  his  vision,  his  richly  varied  and  soulful,  though  not 
always  technically  finished  production,  he  remains,  in  the 
author’s  opinion,  the  most  interesting  and  compelling  perso¬ 
nality  in  Scandinavian  painting  of  to-day.  The  only  artist 
with  whom  he  can  be  compared  in  point  of  creative  strength 
and  poetic  genius  is  his  great  contemporary,  Gustav 
Vigeland,  the  sculptor.  Munch  was  the  product  of  the  na¬ 
turalism  of  the  ’eighties.  He  was  originally  influenced  by 
Krohg,  and  during  his  fruitful  period  of  the  latter  part 
of  the  ’eighties,  he  painted  some  of  the  ablest  figure  com¬ 
positions  and  portraits  which  can  be  found  in  the  entire 
range  of  our  art.  His  great  canvas,  Spring,  in  the  Natio¬ 
nal  Gallery,  as  a  pictorial  arrangement,  a  portrayal  of 
humanity,  and  a  colouristic  achievement,  is  an  indisputable 
masterpiece,  and  perhaps  the  most  important  and  most 
mature  work  in  all  Norwegian  painting. 

It  is  the  first  warm  day  of  Spring.  The  young  girl’s 
invalid  chair  has  been  placed  by  the  open  window,  and, 


49 


languidly  reclining  on  the  pillows,  she  sits  and  breathes  the 
air  that  sighs  through  the  room.  A  light  breeze  laden  with 
the  fragrance  of  the  fields  at  this  moment  fills  the  window 
curtain,  so  that  it  swells  like  a  sail.  As  if  in  gratitude  the 
glance  of  the  convalescent  is  directed  toward  her  aged 
mother,  who  is  seated  knitting  close  by,  and  who  eagerly 
scans  the  expression  on  the  invalid’s  countenance.  No 
words  are  uttered,  but  the  silence  is  full  of  quivering 
expectation,  while  the  vernal  sunshine  floods  every  corner 
of  the  simple  interior. 

There  is  another  canvas,  earlier  in  date,  but  with  a 
similar  motive,  although  quite  differently  handled,  entitled 
The  Sick  Child,  of  which  a  later  replica  may  be  seen  in  the 
present  exhibition.  Out  of  warm  twilight  tones  gleams  the 
pale  profile  of  a  child  with  a  halo  of  reddish  golden  hair. 
At  her  side  appears  the  kneeling  form  of  the  mother,  bowed 
in  grief.  The  lines  of  composition  are  incomparably 
blended  in  this  picture,  over  which  flutter  the  shadows  of 
the  wings  of  Death,  and  in  which  two  beings,  so  fondly 
united,  are  about  to  be  gently  separated  one  from  the 
other. 

As  a  landscape  painter  Munch  is  first  and  foremost  the 
portrayer  of  the  northern  summer  night.  No  one  has  ren¬ 
dered  as  he  the  mystic  suggestion  of  those  light  nights,  with 
mighty  tree  tops  swaying  above  slumbering  white  houses 
and  the  pale,  blurred  outlines  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Often  against  this  soft  background  he  masses  the  striking 
splendour  of  pure  colour,  as  seen  in  the  bright  summer 
costumes  of  young  girls  and  women  in  the  foreground.  It  is 
very  characteristic  of  Munch’s  art  that  it  oscillates  between 
the  tender  and  the  poetic  and  the  most  powerful  demon¬ 
strations  of  chromatic  strength  which  sometimes  do  not  stop 
at  sheer  brutality.  He  is  typically  Norwegian,  both  in  his 


50 


lyrical  feeling  and  in  his  violence,  in  his  morbid  fantasy  and 
his  alert  and  sensitive  apprehension  of  reality. 

Munch’s  contribution  marks  the  parting  of  the  ways  in 
the  development  of  Norwegian  painting,  the  turning  point 
from  photographic  realism  and  illusionism  to  a  purely  per¬ 
sonal  interpretation  and  picturesque  strength  and  beauty. 
Not  one  among  the  young  men  of  talent  can  be  found  who 
has  not  received  vivid  impressions  from  his  work,  and  most 
of  all  is  this  true  of  his  gifted  follower,  Ludvig  Karsten. 
This  painter,  who  is  justly  considered  the  strongest  and  most 
spontaneous  genius  among  the  younger  group,  goes  even  a 
step  further  than  Munch  in  the  direction  of  out  and  out 
subjectivism,  but  in  his  best  work  he  displays  qualities  so 
buoyant,  so  strong,  and  at  the  same  time  so  varied  and 
refined,  that  he  may  even  be  said  to  compete  with  Munch 
himself. 

The  talented  portrait  and  landscape  impressionist,  Henrik 
Lund,  although  he  now  pursues  his  own  path,  also  clearly 
stands  in  a  position  of  indebtedness  to  Munch.  The  key¬ 
notes  of  Lund’s  art  are  his  shrewd  psychological  analysis 
and  his  pointed  presentation  of  character.  None  can  equal 
him  in  catching  a  fleeting  expression  and  transferring  it  to 
canvas — a  glance,  a  half  smile,  a  feature  that  reveals  and 
yet  conceals  personality.  He  handles  his  brush  with  dexter¬ 
ous  and  virile  strength,  which  fact  makes  him  one  of  the 
few  virtuosos  of  Norwegian  painting.  Allied  to  the  fore¬ 
going  artists  we  find  the  painter  of  still-life,  Folkestad,  with 
his  gay,  decorative  pictures  of  flowers  and  fruit,  while  at  a 
somewhat  greater  distance  should  be  placed  the  tasteful 
and  subdued  colourist,  Kavli,  with  his  captivating  silver- 
grey  harmonies. 

The  painters  Thorvald  Erichsen  and  O.  Wold-Tome  are 
modern  colourists  of  another  type.  Both  obtained  solid, 


51 


thorough  training  in  the  Danish  schools,  and  both  subse¬ 
quently  received  strong  impetus  from  French  impressionism 
and  from  Cezanne.  We  can  readily  trace  this  latter  rela¬ 
tionship  in  their  brilliant  yet  subdued  and  richly  saturated 
colouring,  often  showing  an  iridescent  surface,  and  their 
fondness  for  tones  of  violet-blue.  Thorvald  Erichsen  from 
quite  an  early  age  was  a  purist  in  art,  and,  freed  from  all 
restrictions,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  Vart  pour  I’art ,  and 
added  to  Norwegian  painting  elements  of  taste  and  ele¬ 
gance  that  were  previously  lacking.  In  this  respect  he  has 
faithfully  co-operated  with  his  comrade  and  congenial 
fellow-spirit,  O.  Wold-Torne,  a  genuine,  beauty  loving  still- 
life  painter,  who,  in  company  with  Werenskiold  and  Munthe, 
has  led  Norwegian  naturalism  further  toward  refinement 
of  style  and  colouration. 

Lastly,  we  must  mention  Harald  Sohlberg,  a  solitary  and 
unique  figure,  who  belongs  to  the  new  romantic  group  of 
the  ’nineties,  and  has  remained  isolated  from  the  impres¬ 
sionist  movement.  No  one  can  fail  to  remark  the  carefully 
drawn  and  minutely  detailed  landscapes  of  this  artist,  with 
their  rich,  enamel-like  colouring,  affording  an  extremely  in¬ 
teresting  combination  of  stylistic  and  naturalistic  motives. 
Sohlberg’s  art  goes  its  own  way,  but  its  earnestness  and 
tense  sincerity  are  the  loadstars  that  keep  it  from  straying 
too  far  afield.  Art  with  such  a  strong  stamp  of  individuality 
will  always  achieve  its  ends,  nor  can  it  fail  to  rejoice  and 
inspire  sympathetic  spirits. 

Had  we  space  we  might  also  mention  Holmboe,  with  his 
boldly  and  broadly  painted  landscapes;  Onsager,  with  his 
sensitive  and  subdued  figure  compositions,  as  well  as  many 
others.  Yet  this  brief  introduction  does  not  aim  at  com¬ 
pleteness,  so  we  shall  herewith  permit  the  pictures  to 
speak  for  themselves. 


52 


SWEDISH  SECTION 


Under  the  Gracious  Patronage  of 


HIS  MAJESTY  GUSTAV  V 

King  of  Sweden 


ANNA  BOBERG  —  From  a  photograph 


54 


PAINTINGS 


BOBERG,  Anna,  Stockholm 

Anna  Boberg  was  born  the  3  December,  1864  at  Stock¬ 
holm.  She  is  a  daughter  of  F.  Scholander,  who  played 
such  a  prominent  part  in  the  development  of  modern  Swedish 
archiecture,  and  is  the  wife  of  Ferdinand  Boberg,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  architects  in  Sweden.  With  that  daunt¬ 
less  energy  so  characteristic  of  the  highly  talented  family 
to  which  she  belongs,  she  has,  during  the  past  few  years 
worked  her  way  up  to  European  fame.  The  locality  from 
which  she  takes  her  subjects  is  the  Lofoten  Islands,  off 
the  coast  of  Norway,  and  there  she  has  painted  those  huge 
mountains  rising  out  of  the  sea,  surrounded  by  fleets 
of  fishing  boats,  which  have  the  same  form  as  the  old 
Viking  ships,  and  the  crews  of  which  have  not  a  little  of 
the  hardiness  and  courage  of  the  Vikings.  Though  certain 
Swedish  critics  have  not  infrequently  treated  the  work  of 
this  talented  artist  with  unjustifiable  harshness,  yet  abroad, 
and  especially  in  Venice  and  in  Paris,  these  paintings  from 
the  North,  rendered  by  a  woman  of  uncommon  artistic 
talent,  who  combines  with  her  love  of  art  the  true  Scandi¬ 
navian  fondness  for  outdoor  life,  have  been  greeted  with 
distinct  enthusiasm.  Mrs.  Boberg  often  spends  long 
periods  in  the  solitude  of  these  far-away  islands,  where 
something  of  the  sturdy  spaciousness  of  old  Northern 
times  still  survives. 


1  Sunlight  and  Showers 

2  At  Rest,  Sunday 

3  Dragonheads 

4  After  the  Day’s  Work 

5  Boats  and  Fisher  Huts 

6  Not  a  Ripple 

7  Putting  Out  to  Sea 


55 


EUGEN,  H.  R.  H.,  Prince  Eugen, 

PRINCE  Eugen,  son  of  Oscar  II  and  Queen  Sofia,  was 
born  the  15  August,  1865  at  Drottningholm  Castle.  He 
began  to  paint  about  1885,  and  studied  in  1887  at  Paris, 
where  Puvis  de  Chavannes  seems  to  have  aroused  his  taste 
for  decorative  art.  He  exhibited  for  the  first  time  in  1889 
in  Paris,  and  during  the  last  few  years  has  lived  at  Valdem- 
arsudde,  in  Djurgarden  Park,  Stockholm,  occupying  the 
beautiful  villa  built  for  him  by  the  distinguished  architect, 
Ferdinand  Boberg.  The  services  Prince  Eugen  has  rendered 
modern  Swedish  art  are  inestimable.  He  has  generously 
aided  and  supported  a  large  number  of  young  painters,  has 
exercised  an  extensive  patronage  in  the  shape  of  orders  for 
pictures,  and  finally  has  himself  created  genuine  works  of 
art  and  studied  his  craft  deeply  and  without  a  trace  of 
dilettantism.  It  is  particularly  the  Swedish  summer  night, 
with  all  its  feeling  of  unison  and  melting  into  one  great  har¬ 
mony,  that  he  depicts  as  no  one  else  has  done.  Tegner 
describes  the  Scandinavian  summer  night  with  the  words: 
“  ’Twas  not  day,  ’twas  not  night — a-poise  between  the  two,” 
and  for  the  Swedes,  Prince  Eugen’s  pictures  wake  into  deep 
and  rich  life  their  innermost  and  profoundest  feelings  for 
nature.  Yet  Prince  Eugen  paints  not  alone  the  more  remote 
appeal  of  distant  wooded  and  watered  landscape,  but  also 
devotes  his  energies  to  recording  the  constantly  shifting 
panorama  of  life  and  scene  in  and  about  Stockholm.  And 
to  no  theme  does  he  fail  to  impart  that  note  of  refined  and 
exalted  lyricism  which  is  the  dominant  characteristic  of  his 
temperament. 

8  Swedish  Summer  Night 

9  After  Rain 


FJ7ESTAD,  Gustaf  Adolf,  Arvika 

GuSTAF  FJjESTAD  was  born  the  22  December,  1868  at 
Stockholm.  He  studied  at  the  Academy  of  Arts  from 
1891  to  1892,  and  also  under  Liljefors.  Fjsestad,  like  the 


56 


57 


X 

X 


Naona  aoNiad 


latter,  is  both  sportsman  and  painter.  In  his  art  he  views 
native  landscape  with  something  of  an  arbitrarily  chosen 
viewpoint,  now  bringing  out  the  decorative  elements  in  rip¬ 
pling  water,  mosses,  and  snow-drifts  heaped  together  by  the 
wind,  and  again  applying  his  stylistic  vision  to  textiles  and 
furniture.  It  is,  however,  through  his  snow  scenes  from 
wintry  Sweden  that  he  has  won  such  appreciation  abroad, 
and  rarely  have  snow  and  frost  effects  been  painted  so  con¬ 
vincingly.  Fjaestad  devotes  himself  extensively  to  applied 
art,  and  in  his  rustic  furniture  has  striven  to  produce  true 
Scandinavian  decorative  motives,  and  in  his  carpets  and 
wall-hangings  he  gives  artistic  expression  to  mosses  and 
flowers  of  the  forest,  or  the  quaint  surface  formation  of 
water-rings.  In  all  this  work  he  has  unquestionably  said 
new  and  personal  things  concerning  the  treasury  of  beauty, 
left  unregarded  for  centuries,  to  be  found  in  the  fantastic 
and  varied  shades  and  shapes  the  snow  can  assume,  the 
snow  which  had  previously  been  regarded  in  art  and  litera¬ 
ture  from  but  one  point  of  view— that  of  white,  virgin 


purity. 

10 

Winter  Morning 

11 

Part  of  Waterfall 

12 

Hoarfrost 

13 

Meditation 

14 

September  Night 

15 

Ripples 

16 

Sun  and  Snow 

17 

Running  Water 

18 

Winter  Night — Tapestry- 

19 

Running  Water — Tapestry 

20 

Thaw — T  apes  try 

21 

Below  the  Falls — Tapestry 

58 


GUSTAF  ADOLF  FJA2STAD  —  From  a  photograph 


59 


HALLSTROM,  Gunnar,  Bjorko 

Gunnar  Hallstrom  was  born  the  2  May,  1875  at 
Stockholm.  He  studied  from  1893  to  1897  at  the  Academy 
of  Arts,  and  has  resided  during  the  past  ten  years  at  Bjorko 
in  Lake  Malaren.  In  this  beautiful  island,  where  the  town 
of  Birka  was  once  situated,  and  where  the  French  monk, 
Ansgar,  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  first  preached 
the  Christian  faith,  there  still  survives  something  of  the 
ancient  Swedish  peasant  culture,  and  this  profoundly  ima¬ 
ginative  artist  has  made  Bjorko  the  focus  of  his  esthetic 
activity.  He  paints  and  draws  not  only  ancient  graves, 
over  which  birches  are  soughing,  but  also  young,  living 
Sweden — light-haired  men  and  women,  dancing  round  the 
Walpurgis  Night  fires,  or  speeding  on  skis  over  the  frozen 
waters  of  the  lake.  Hallstrom  is  an  entirely  independent 
artist.  He  has  a  strong  feeling  for  the  decorative,  which  is 
displayed  to  advantage  in  his  tapestries  and  vignettes,  and 
notably  in  the  strikingly  suggestive  and  characteristic  poster 
which  he  has  designed  for  the  present  exhibition. 

22  On  the  Frozen  Snow 

23  The  Gladness  of  the  Earth 

24  On  the  Border  of  the  Field 


HESSELBOM,  Otto,  Seffle 

o 

OTTO  Hesselbom  was  born  in  1848  at  Animskog,  in 
the  Province  of  Dalsland,  and  it  is  in  this  province, 
situated  on  Lake  Vanern,  the  largest  lake  in  Sweden,  that 
he  has  painted  and  still  paints  his  typically  Swedish  views 
over  blue  heights  and  broad  waters.  His  artistic  develop¬ 
ment  was  slow,  and  it  is  strange  to  think  that  the  meek 
Mission  School  boy,  who  so  tardily  began  his  studies  at  the 
Stockholm  Academy  of  Arts,  should  have  been  appreciated 
in  Germany  and  Italy  before  his  name  was  even  known  to 
Swedish  artists  or  patrons  of  art.  He  strives  after  simplicity 
and  monumentality,  giving  his  pictures  a  lyric  quality  and  a 


60 


GUNNAR  HALLSTROM  —  From  a  photograph 


61 


quiet  grandeur  which  are  typical  of  certain  aspects  of  the 
Swedish  landscape.  Hesselbom  now  resides  at  Seffle  in 
Varmland,  near  Lake  Vanern,  and  has  recently  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  himself  better  and  better  appreciated. 
His  pictures  have  been  purchased  by  leading  museums 
at  home  and  abroad,  and  he  is  an  artist  who  has  made  his 
way  by  dint  of  extraordinary  energy  and  singleness  of 
purpose. 

25  My  Country 

26  View  Over  Lake  Arran 

27  My  Parental  Home 

28  Evening  Landscape,  Lake  Arran 


LARSSON,  Carl,  Sundborn 

CARL  LARSSON  was  born  the  28  May,  1853  at  Stockholm, 
where  he  studied  at  the  Academy  of  Arts  from  1869  to 
1876.  He  meanwhile  supported  himself  by  illustration, 
went  over  to  Paris  in  1876,  and  in  1883  revealed  his  first 
independent  artistic  style  in  a  series  of  bright  and  delicate 
water-colours.  As  an  illustrator,  too,  he  shortly  attained  a 
much  higher  plane.  Residing  first  at  Gothenburg  and  then 
at  Stockholm,  he  devoted  himself  to  mural  decoration,  his 
most  important  work  in  this  line  being  his  six  frescoes  in  the 
National  Museum  and  his  great  ceiling-piece  in  the  foyer 
of  the  Dramatic  Theatre  in  Stockholm.  He  is  best  known, 
however,  by  his  water-colours,  abounding  with  true  Swedish 
feeling,  love  of  home,  and  good  humour.  These  pictures, 
executed  with  a  consummate  mastery  of  line,  have,  by  their 
wide  yet  merited  popularity,  doubtless  prevented  the  gen¬ 
eral  public  from  fully  realizing  his  greatness  as  a  mural 
painter.  Rarely  has  the  sheer  joy  of  esthetic  creation  so 
come  to  light  as  in  Carl  Larsson  and  his  art.  These  emana¬ 
tions  from  a  singularly  rich  personality  have  influenced  and 
invigourated  the  entire  nation.  At  Sundborn,  near  Falun, 
Carl  Larsson  has  built  for  himself  a  home  in  every  way 


62 


OTTO  HESSELBOM  —  From  a  photograph 


63 


worthy  the  artist,  a  home  which  he  loves,  and  which  it  has 
been  his  delight  to  depict  with  inexhaustible  charm  and 
variety. 


29  Myself 

30  My  Wife 

31  Shelling  Peas 

32  The  Love  Park 

33  In  Mother’s  Bed 

34  Theatrical  Cogitations 

35  In  the  Snow 

36  Nerium 

37  Kersti  at  the  Window 


37 A  In  the  Study 


LILJEFORS,  Bruno  Andreas,  Bullero 

Bruno  Liljefors  was  born  the  14  May,  1860  at  Upp¬ 
sala,  and  studied  from  1879  to  1882  at  the  Academy  of  Arts 
in  Stockholm.  The  great  animal  painter  travelled  in  Ger¬ 
many,  Italy,  and  France,  but  has  been  little  influenced  by 
other  painters.  He  has  spent  nearly  his  whole  life  in 
Sweden,  in  the  country,  first  near  Uppsala,  and,  during  the 
last  twenty  years,  some  miles  south  of  Stockholm.  Lilje¬ 
fors  is  pre-eminently  the  painter  of  the  forest.  It  has  been 
said  of  him  that  he  paints  natural  history,  and,  indeed,  in 
his  pictures  everything  is  reproduced  with  the  exactness  of 
the  hunter  and  the  lover  of  nature.  He  delights  in  depict¬ 
ing  the  protective  mimicry  of  animals,  such  as  evoking  sym¬ 
phonies  of  colour  from  a  group  of  brown-speckled  waders 
on  the  sandy  beach.  Liljefors  paints  animals  as  they  are 
when  no  one  sees  them.  He  surprises  them  in  their  life 
and  death  struggles,  without  being  visible  himself.  It  is 
within  his  power,  and  his  alone,  to  show  us  the  ducks  as  they 
quack  mysteriously  in  the  light  summer  night,  or  the  foxes 
slinking  farther  and  farther  into  the  forest,  where  the  music 


64 


*€ARL  LARSSON  —  Portrait  of  self. 
Bonnier,  Stockholm. 


Collection  of  Mr.  Karl  Otto 


65 


of  the  pines  has  been  soughing  since  time  immemorial,  and 
where  everything  gives  forth  a  compelling  sense  of  the  unity 
of  all  organic  life. 


38  Foxes 

39  The  Hunter 

40  Fox  Shooting 

40A  Birds  in  the  Snow 


ZORN,  Anders  Leonard,  Mora 

ANDERS  ZORN  was  born  the  18  February,  1860  at  Mora, 
in  Dalarne,  the  son  of  a  brewer  from  Bavaria  and  a 
Dalecarlian  woman.  He  was  brought  up  as  a  peasant  boy 
on  the  banks  of  Lake  Siljan,  and  when  but  a  small  child 
gave  evidence  of  his  passion  for  art  by  carving  wooden 
figures,  which  he  coloured  with  berry  juice.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  went  to  Stockholm.  Though  he  first  studied 
sculpture  at  the  Academy  of  Arts,  it  was  as  a  water-colour 
painter  that  he  made  his  initial  mark.  As  early  as  1881  he 
began  to  travel,  spending  considerable  time  in  Spain,  and 
later  residing  for  some  years  in  London.  During  the 
’nineties  he  passed  no  little  time  at  his  home  in  Mora,  upon 
which  he  has  lavished  his  most  ardent  love,  but  he  has  also 
resided  in  Paris  and  the  United  States,  where  his  breezy 
freshness,  his  spirit  and  dash,  his  inimitable  blending  of 
rusticity  and  elegance,  and  the  vigour  and  healthy  sensuality 
of  his  line  and  stroke  readily  found  both  enthusiastic  and 
discriminating  admirers.  Zorn  may  sometimes  be  uncon¬ 
vincing  in  his  painting,  but  when  he  does  succeed,  he  con¬ 
jures  up  reality  itself,  and  gives  his  work  a  definite  some¬ 
thing  which  recalls  Frans  Hals,  though  Zorn  never  tried  to 
learn  from  the  masters  of  either  the  seventeenth  or  the 
eighteenth  centuries.  Technically  he  has  chiefly  aimed  at 
giving  proof  of  his  supremacy  as  a  painter  of  light  and  of 
fleeting  chromatic  effects.  He  has  endeavoured  to  repro¬ 
duce  that  which  he  most  loves — the  fullness  of  life — 


66 


BRUNO  A.  LILJEFORS  —  Portrait  by  Anders  L.  Zorn 


67 


and  his  personality  shines  forth  in  every  line,  every  patch 
of  colour. 


41  Mona 

42  Matins  on  Christmas  Day- 

43  Djos-Matts,  Clockmaker  of  Mora 

44  Skeri-kulla 

45  At  the  Window 

46  Dagmar 
46A  Hall  Kesti 


SCULPTURE 

EDSTROM,  David,  Stockholm 

David  Edstrom  was  born  in  Sweden  in  1873,  and  came 
to  America  as  a  mere  child,  his  parents  settling  in  Iowa. 
Until  nearly  twenty  he  lived  in  the  West,  at  which  age, 
desirous  of  pursuing  an  artistic  career,  he  returned  to  his 
native  country  and  began  his  studies  at  the  Stockholm 
Academy.  He  early  revealed  remarkable  talent,  particu¬ 
larly  in  the  field  of  plastic  portraiture,  and  continued  his 
apprenticeship  in  Florence  and  in  Paris.  Edstrom  was  seen 
to  particular  advantage  with  his  associates  of  the  Konst- 
narsforbundet  at  the  Berlin  Secession  in  1910,  and  still 
more  recently  at  Stockholm  and  Amsterdam,  having  held 
this  summer  in  the  latter  city  an  important  collective  exhi¬ 
bition  conjointly  with  his  countryman,  Carl  Larsson.  His 
portrait  busts  of  Ernest  Thiel,  Esq.,  of  Professor  Knut 
Kjellberg,  of  the  publisher,  Karl  Otto  Bonnier,  and  other 
notable  men,  display  uncommon  vigour  of  characterisation 
and  psychological  analysis. 

47  Ernest  Thiel,  Esq.  —  Bronze 


68 


ANDERS  L.  ZORN  —  Portrait  of  self 


69 


MILLES,  Carl,  Stockholm 

CARL  Milles  was  born  the  23  June,  1875  at  Lagga,  near 
Uppsala,  but  received  his  artistic  training  in  France, 
where  he  studied  under  Fremiet.  Milles,  who  has  been 
residing  in  Stockholm  for  about  a  decade  past,  is  a  fertile 
artist,  rich  in  creative  power.  He  is  as  full  of  ideas  and 
projects  as  he  is  conscientious  in  their  execution,  plunging 
into  the  biggest  and  most  arduous  tasks  with  joyous  enthusi¬ 
asm.  The  statue  of  the  Swedish  chemist,  Scheele,  at 
Koping,  is  considered  one  of  his  best  works,  and  the  huge 
seated  statue  of  Gustaf  Vasa,  in  the  Northern  Museum, 
at  Stockholm,  shows  that  Milles  has  already  entered  into  the 
popular  consciousness,  for  this  Gustaf  Vasa  stands  for 
Swedes  as  the  true  type  of  the  king  who  “built  up  Sweden 
from  floor  to  roof.”  Eagles,  elephants,  giant  lizards,  and 
bears,  at  once  grotesque  and  monumental,  have  also  been 
fashioned  by  Milles  in  granite  and  in  bronze.  His  work  is 
free  and  broad  in  treatment  and  never  fails  to  reveal  a  wel¬ 
come  measure  of  spirited,  graphic  verity. 

48  Dancing  Girl  —  Marble 

49  Dancing  Girl  with  Drapery  —  Marble 

50  Lost  in  Thought  —  Polychrome  marble 

51  After  Six  O’Clock  —  Bronze 

52  At  the  Farrier’s  —  Bronze 

53  Elephants  —  Study  —  Bronze 

54  Dutch  Milkmaid  —  Bronze 

55  Six  Studies  from  Holland  —  Silver 

PETTERSSON,  Axel,  Doderhult 

Axel  PETTERSSON  was  born  in  1868  at  Doderhult, 
in  Smaland.  He  is  from  the  same  province  as  the 
great  humourist,  Albert  Engstrom,  and,  like  the  latter, 
depicts  the  lean,  shrewd  old  peasants  and  peasant  women 


70 


CARL  MILLES  —  From  a  photograph 


71 


AXEL  PETTERSSON  —  From  a  photograph 


72 


with  their  quaint  air  of  assurance.  He  also  carves  similar 
subjects,  and,  like  the  Japanese,  puts  something  at  once 
grotesque  and  artistic  into  his  wooden  statuettes,  which 
are  now  known  and  prized  the  world  over.  Pettersson  is 
himself  a  peasant’s  son.  He  first  began  work  as  a  joiner. 
He  is  wholly  self-taught,  and  a  man  of  unusual  originality. 
His  style  of  execution,  his  feeling  for  the  requirements  of 
the  material,  and  for  broad,  simple  planes,  constituting  a 
sort  of  impressionism  in  wood  carving,  render  his  emacia¬ 
ted  hacks,  his  obstinate  bulls,  and  burlesque  peasant  wed¬ 
dings  and  funerals  really  remarkable  works  of  art. 


56  The  Christening  —  Wood 

57  At  the  Photographer’s  —  Wood 

58  The  Burial  —  Wood 


DANISH  SECTION 


Under  the  Gracious  Patronage  of 


HIS  MAJESTY  CHRISTIAN  X 

King  of  Denmark 


THORVALD  BINDESB-CLL — Portrait  by  Vifhelm  Hammersh^i, 
Collection  of  Dr.  Alfred  Bramsen,  Copenhagen 


76 


THORVALD  BINDESBCrLL 


The  late  THORVALD  BlNDESB^rLL,  whose  countenance  so 
characteristically  adorns  the  opposite  page,  was  indisput¬ 
ably  the  most  virile  and  fecund  force  in  the  entire  field  of 
contemporary  Scandinavian  decorative  art.  Born  at 
Copenhagen  in  1846,  he  died  sixty-two  years  later  in  the 
city  which  he  strove  so  variously  to  beautify,  and  of  which 
he  remains  to-day  one  of  the  imperishable  glories.  The 
career  of  this  remarkable  individual  was  an  incessant 
struggle  toward  an  ever  richer  and  more  typical  esthetic 
self-expression.  His  energy  was  boundless,  and  his  activity 
as  unceasing  as  his  flow  of  wit  and  lusty  good  humour  which 
were  tempered  now  and  again  by  a  manly  and  merciless 
sarcasm.  He  touched  current  artistic  endeavour  at  an 
infinite  number  of  points,  and  everywhere  left  the  impress 
of  his  vigorous  personality  and  unflagging  inventive  ex¬ 
uberance.  The  son  of  the  well-known  architect  who 
planned  the  Thorvaldsen  Museum,  he  was  himself  trained 
in  the  paternal  profession,  which  he  practised  whenever 
opportunity  offered.  It  was,  however,  in  the  province  of 
creative  design  that  he  attained  highest  rank,  and  no  one 
familiar  with  his  work  in  pottery,  furniture,  silverware, 
tapestry,  book-binding,  or  decorative  ornament  of  any 
description  will  fail  to  recognize  the  abundant  freedom  and 
rhythmic  eloquence  of  his  contribution.  While  there  are 
echoes  in  this  art  of  such  widely  divergent  influences  as  the 
Romanesque,  Baroque,  and  Chinese,  still,  in  the  final 
analysis,  all  that  he  has  left  behind  remains  sheer  Bindesb^ll 
in  its  opulent  breadth  of  form,  fluent  individuality  of 
stroke,  and  sonorous  richness  of  tone.  It  is  a  pleasure 
to  offer  herewith  even  such  an  inconsiderable  fragment  of 
Bindesb.edrs  art  as  may  be  noted  in  the  cover  and  incidental 
decorative  features  of  the  present  catalogue.  The  designs 
are  published  with  the  special  sanction  of  Director  Karl 
Madsen,  and  have  been  adapted  and  arranged,  in  as  far  as 
has  been  necessary,  by  Bindesbjsdl’s  favourite  pupil,  Mr. 
SvendHammersfuad,  brother  of  the  Danish  painter,  Vilhelm 
Hammershjsri,  and  himself  an  artist  of  distinction. 


77 


PAINTINGS 


GIERSING,  Harald,  Copenhagen 

Harald  Giersing  was  born  in  Copenhagen  and  oc¬ 
cupies  a  prominent  place  among  the  younger  group  of 
Danish  painters  who  have  lately  done  so  much  toward 
shattering  the  chrysalis  of  a  comfortable  past.  They  have 
one  and  all  derived  their  chief  impetus  from  the  ever  fruit¬ 
ful  city  by  the  Seine,  which,  at  stated  intervals,  takes  it  upon 
herself  to  revolutionize  and  renovate  the  field  of  art. 
If  his  friend  and  fellow  worker  Edvard  Weihe  leans  vaguely 
toward  Cubism,  Giersing  goes  further  back  and  takes  his  in¬ 
spiration  mainly  from  Cezanne.  He  exhibits  of  course  at  the 
Frie  Udstilling,  the  stamping  ground  of  modernism,  his  group 
last  spring  and  summer  being  a  particularly  interesting 
one  consisting  of  eight  portraits  and  nature  studies.  While 
it  cannot  be  said  that  Giersing  has  as  yet  found  himself 
in  an  artistic  sense,  he  has  nevertheless  given  evidence  of 
uncommon  talent.  In  order  to  be  comprehensive,  an 
exhibition  should  look  courageously  forward  into  the  future, 
as  well  as  safely  and  placidly  back  to  the  past,  and  Harald 
Giersing  is  one  whose  work  clearly  points  to  newer  and 
fresher  accomplishment. 

59  Girl  with  Blue  Skirt 


HAMMERSH0I,  Vilhelm,  Copenhagen 

Vilhelm  Hammershoi,  was  born  the  15  May,  1864 
in  Copenhagen,  and  pursued  his  artistic  studies  at  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts  from  1879  to  1884,  after  which  he 
was  for  sometime  a  pupil  of  Kroyer.  In  the  spring  of  1885 
he  made  his  first  appearance  at  the  annual  Charlotten- 
borg  Exhibition,  on  which  occasion  he  displayed  the 
celebrated  Portrait  of  a  Young  Girl,  now  in  the  Hirsch¬ 
sprung  Collection.  There  was  little  trace  in  any  of  his 
early  work  of  the  facile  pleinairism  of  his  master,  Kreyer, 
for  from  the  very  outset  Hammershoi  began  to  see  life 


78 


HARALD  GIERSING  — Portrait  of  self 


79 


and  nature  after  his  own  inherently  subtle  and  in¬ 
dividual  manner.  In  their  delicacy  of  vision,  subdued 
ambience  of  tonality,  and  premeating  quietude  of  spirit 
these  interiors  and  genre  studies  are  quite  without  parallel 
in  the  province  of  modern  artistic  achievement.  They  re¬ 
call  in  a  measure  the  modest  triumphs  of  the  Dutchmen 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  yet  no  Dutchmen  ever  showed 
the  tense  and  tremulous  subjectivity  which  these  incom¬ 
parable  little  panels  reveal.  In  1891  Hammersh^ri,  to¬ 
gether  with  a  number  of  the  more  progressive  Danish 
painters,  left  the  dull  official  somnolence  of  Charlottenborg 
in  order  to  imbibe  the  fresher  atmosphere  of  the  Frie 
Udstilling,  and  year  by  year  his  work  has  gained  in  depth 
and  esthetic  penetration.  He  is  now  recognized  through¬ 
out  Europe  as  a  unique  artistic  personality,  and  in  1911 
won  the  Grand  Prize  at  the  International  Exhibition  in 
Rome.  Although  the  early  stages  of  his  career  were  not 
marked  by  a  conspicuous  measure  of  success,  Hammersh.©i 
was  fortunate  in  finding  a  discriminating  and  enthusiastic 
patron  in  Dr.  Alfred  Bramsen,  of  Copenhagen,  to  whose 
courteous  generosity  we  are  indebted  for  the  present 
characteristic  group  of  canvases. 

60  Western  Portal,  Christiansborg  Castle 

61  The  Church,  Christiansborg  Castle 

62  The  Young  Virtuoso,  Mr.  Henry  Bramsen 

63  Sunbeams 

64  Kronborg,  Hamlet’s  Castle 

65  Open  Doors 

66  Montague  Street,  London 

67  Entrance  to  Asiatic  Company,  Copenhagen 

68  The  Balcony  Door 

69  Bedroom 

70  Drawing-room,  Lady  Reading 


80 


VILHELM  HAMMERSH0I  —Portrait  of  self.  Courtesy  of  the 
artist’s  brother  Mr.  Svend  Hammershj©'i. 


81 


J0RGENSEN,  Axel,  Copenhagen 

AXEL  Jorgensen  was  born  the  3  February,  1883  in 
Copenhagen,  and  thus  obviously  belongs  to  the  younger 
group  of  Danish  painters  who  are  to-day  winning  their 
laurels  with  such  remarkable  rapidity  and  assurance. 
Studying  first  at  the  Technical  School  at  Copenhagen, 
Jorgensen  made  his  debut  at  Charlottenborg  in  1908,  and 
two  years  later  attained  signal  success  on  the  occasion  of 
his  appearance  at  the  exhibition  of  The  Thirteen,  a  group 
of  young  radicals  who  have  already  given  excellent  account 
of  themselves.  The  same  year — 1910 — he  was  invited  to 
send  to  the  Frie  Udstilling,  or  Free  Exhibition,  and  sub¬ 
sequently  made  his  appearance  at  the  International  Ex¬ 
hibition  at  Rome.  The  painter’s  recent  retrospective  dis¬ 
play  at  Blomqvist’s  in  Christiania  stamped  him  as  con¬ 
siderably  more  than  a  promising  newcomer.  His  style 
reveals  welcome  breath  and  freedom,  his  grasp  of  character 
is  firm,  and,  both  in  his  work  in  black  and  white  and  on 
canvas,  he  proves  himself  the  possessor  of  a  distinctly 
marked  esthetic  individuality.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  add  that 
Jorgensen  is  another  of  that  group  of  talented  progressives 
who  have  lately  won  favour  with  Director  Madsen  of  the 
Royal  Gallery. 

7 1  Portrait 

72  Portrait  of  Young  Man 


KYHN,  Knud,  Copenhagen 

Knud  Kyhn  was  born  the  17  March,  1880  in  Copen¬ 
hagen,  and  received  his  preliminary  training  at  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Arts,  where  he  at  once  displayed  his  fondness 
for  pure  colour  and  refreshingly  decorative  effects.  He 
made  his  first  professional  appearance  at  Charlottenborg 
in  1906,  and  since  1908  has  been  regularly  invited  to  ex¬ 
hibit  at  the  Frie  Udstilling  where  he  finds  himself  in  dis¬ 
tinctly  more  congenial  company.  Although  still  a  young 


82 


AXEL  JORGENSEN  —  Portrait  of  self 


83 


man  he  has  already  won  recognition  on  the  Continent, 
having  recently  been  seen  to  advantage  at  the  Salon  des 
Independants  in  Paris  and  also  at  the  Berlin  Secession, 
his  group  of  three  brightly  tinted  panels  having  been  parti¬ 
cularly  admired  in  the  latter  galleries  last  summer.  Both 
in  spirit  and  in  practice  an  essentially  decorative  painter, 
Kyhn  adds  a  welcome  note  to  Danish  art,  which,  until  now, 
has  shown  marked  neglect  of  those  tendencies  which  may 
be  briefly  characterised  as  stylistic,  and  with  which  the 
Swedes  evince  such  pronounced  sympathy. 

73  Ducks  in  Flight 

74  Mowgli  in  the  Jungle 


LARSEN,  Johannes,  Kjerteminde 

Johannes  Larsen  was  born  the  27  December,  1867 
at  Kjerteminde,  on  the  Island  of  Fyn.  He  did  not  receive 
formal  instruction  from  any  of  the  Danish  art  schools  or 
academies  but  from  1884  to  1893  pursued  his  studies  in 
more  leisurely  and  stimulating  fashion  under  Kristian 
Zahrtmann.  In  1891  he  made  his  appearance  for  the  first 
time  at  the  Charlottenborg  exhibition,  and  since  1893 
has  been  a  member  of,  and  regular  contributor  to,  the 
Frie  Udstilling.  Larsen  has  also  studied  and  painted  at 
different  intervals  in  Paris,  in  Italy,  and  even  Boston,  where 
he  resided  for  sometime  in  1907.  Together  with  his  fellow- 
pupils  under  Zahrtmann,  Fritz  Syberg  and  Peter  Hansen, 
Johannes  Larsen  forms  the  nucleus  of  what  is  known  in 
modern  Danish  painting  as  Den  fynske  Skole,  a  group  of 
sincere  and  earnest  nature  worshippers  who  find  their 
chief  inspiration  in  the  Island  of  Fyn  and  whose  best  pro¬ 
ductions  are  to  be  seen  in  the  provincial  museum  of  Faaborg. 
Larsen  is  Denmark’s  foremost  painter  of  bird  life,  and  inva¬ 
riably  lends  his  work  a  verity  of  observation  and  char- 


84 


JOHANNES  LARSEN  —  From  a  photograph 


85 


acteristic  truth  of  setting  and  colouration  which  never 
fail  to  attract  interest  both  at  home  and  abroad. 


75  At  the  Window 

76  Peahen  and  Young 

77  Summer  by  the  Sea 

78  Goldfinch  in  Cage 

MADSEN,  Viggo,  Lyngby 

VlGGO  Madsen  was  born  the  5  March,  1885  at  Lyng¬ 
by,  one  of  the  numerous  beautiful  suburban  resorts  in  the 
vicinity  of  Copenhagen.  Like  his  distinguished  father, 
Director  Karl  Madsen  of  the  Royal  Gallery,  Viggo  Madsen 
early  gave  evidence  of  marked  artistic  talent,  and  in  1903 
made  his  entry  at  Charlottenborg.  The  following  year  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Frie  Udstilling,  the  magnet  which 
inevitably  draws  into  its  energizing  radius  the  younger 
and  more  progressive  exponents  of  Danish  art  as  well  as 
not  a  few  of  the  older  spirits  who  thereby  seek  to  postpone 
as  long  as  possible  the  impending  process  of  fossilisation. 
In  his  portraits,  genre  studies,  and  landscapes  Viggo 
Madsen  displays  no  little  fresh  charm  of  vision  and  freedom 
of  handling. 

79  Portrait  of  My  Mother 

80  View  from  My  Bedroom  Window 


NIELSEN,  Einar,  Hellerup 

ElNAR  Nielsen  was  born  the  9  July,  1872  at  Copen¬ 
hagen.  After  studying  for  a  brief  period  at  the  Technical 
School  he  entered  the  Royal  Academy  of  Arts  where  he 
remained  from  1889  to  1893,  making  his  appearance  the 
latter  year  at  the  Charlottenborg  exhibition.  Owing 
largely  to  considerations  of  health  he  has,  since  1905, 
resided  mainly  in  Italy,  returning  occasionally  to  pass  the 


86 


EINAR  NIELSEN  —  From  a  photograph 


87 


summers  at  Gern,  in  Jutland,  and  but  rarely  opening  his 
modest  white  house  set  among  the  trees  of  Hellerup.  His 
position  in  Danish  art  and,  indeed,  in  the  art  of  Europe  is 
unique.  His  tense,  scrupulously  designed,  and  penetrant 
portraits  and  character  studies  are  unlike  anything  in 
modern  painting.  Almost  achromatic  in  tone,  yet  incom- 
parately  faithful  in  line,  instinct  with  psychological  feeling 
and  imbued  with  a  deep  sense  of  human  misery  and  suffer¬ 
ing,  these  canvases  exercise  a  powerful  appeal  wherever 
they  make  appearance.  His  own  lack  of  physical  vigour 
has  unquestionably  coloured  his  vision  of  external  reality 
and  conferred  upon  his  art  its  acutely  sensitive  modernity 
and  sympathetic  affinity  with  that  which  is  most  enduring 
in  the  production  of  the  past,  particularly  the  work  of  the 
Italian  primitives. 

81  Evening  Bells 

82  Portrait 

83  Brittany  Woman 


PAULSEN,  Julius,  Copenhagen 

Julius  Paulsen  was  born  the  22  October,  1860  at 
Odense,  where  he  began  his  artistic  career  in  humble 
fashion  as  pupil  in  the  Technical  School,  and  was  subse¬ 
quently  apprenticed  to  a  local  house  painter  and  interior 
decorator.  Encouraged  chiefly  by  his  mother  to  continue 
his  studies,  he  moved  to  Copenhagen,  remaining  at  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts  during  1879-1882.  His  debut  was 
made  at  Charlottenborg  in  1879  and  since  then  he  has  been 
a  constant  exhibitor  and  has  at  various  intervals  been 
accorded  the  highest  official  honours.  As  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Academy,  a  member  of  the  Academy  Council,  and 
an  Academy  Professor  he  has  enjoyed  unusual  prestige, 
a  prestige  in  the  main  justified,  though  within  the  past  few 
years  taste  has  decidedly  changed  respecting  the  more 
academic  side  of  his  production.  As  a  landscape  painter, 
and  in  the  province  of  portraiture  he  however  continues 


88 


to  hold  his  own,  being  indeed  the  only  Danish  artist  save 
Knoyer,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  Tuxen,  to  give  his  sitters 
that  touch  of  cosmopolitan  elegance  so  currently  admired 
in  social  and  diplomatic  circles. 

84  Portrait  of  Baron  Rosenkrantz 


RING,  Lauritz  Andersen,  Baldersbremde 

Lauritz  Andersen  Ring  was  born  the  15  August, 
1854  in  the  village  of  Ring,  in  Seeland,  where  his  ancestors 
had  for  generations  been  humble  cottagers.  There  being 
scant  opportunity  to  pursue  his  artistic  studies  in  the 
nearby  town  of  Prsestjsr  he  came  to  Copenhagen  in  1875 
and  remained  at  the  Academy  for  a  considerable  period. 
In  1882  he  made  his  first  appearance  at  the  Charlottenborg 
exhibition,  and  it  is  on  the  historic  walls  of  this  same 
venerable  institution  that  his  canvases  are  still  annually 
seen.  Save  for  a  few  brief  trips  abroad  this  essentially 
home-loving  artist  has  passed  most  of  his  quiet,  industrious 
lifetime  in  Denmark,  the  flat,  wide-horizoned  scenery  of 
which  he  loves  so  deeply  and  paints  with  such  endearing 
truth  and  sincerity  to  fact  and  to  spirit.  Ring  continues 
the  line  of  that  older  generation  of  artists  who  were  the 
veritable  founders  of  Danish  landscape.  His  art  is  purely 
traditional,  and  has  nothing  in  common  with  that  of  the 
younger  men  now  so  much  in  the  public  eye.  To  visit 
his  modest,  vine-covered  and  flower-fronted  home  near 
Roskilde  is  like  finding  one’s  self  back  in  the  fragrant,  repose¬ 
ful  atmosphere  of  past  existence  and  patient  endeavour. 

85  The  Postman 

86  Winter  Day 

87  The  Farewell 

88  Karrebaksminde 

89  Marshland 


89 


SCHOU,  Karl,  Valby 

Karl  Schou  was  born  the  9  March,  1870  in  Copen¬ 
hagen,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  became  a  pupil  of  Kris¬ 
tian  Zahrtmann,  than  whom  no  one  has  done  more  toward 
opening  the  eyes  of  the  younger  generation  of  Danish  and 
Norwegian  painters  to  the  myriad  possibilities  of  nature  in¬ 
terpretation  and  the  colouristic  beauty  of  wellnigh  any  speci¬ 
fic  object  or  scene  either  within  or  out  of  doors.  Like  so 
many  of  his  comrades,  Karl  Schou  made  his  first  public 
appearance  as  a  painter  at  Charlottenborg  (1891),  after¬ 
ward  joining  forces  with  the  Frie  Udstilling  of  which  he 
has  been  a  member  since  1896.  Continuing  his  studies  in 
Paris,  London,  and  Italy,  he  returned  to  his  native  country 
where  he  has  won  a  distinct  place  for  himself  as  a  subtle 
and  poetic  apostle  of  delicately  varied  atmospheric  effects. 
Schou  in  essence  belongs  with  the  tonalists.  His  freely 
handled  little  canvases  are  usually  conceived  in  a  single 
carefully  sustained  key,  and  seldom  fail  to  reveal  refinement 
of  taste  and  true  esthetic  sensibility.  His  art  is  subjective 
in  appeal,  and  stands  in  direct  antithesis  to  the  clear-eyed 
objectivity  so  characteristic  of  Ring. 

90  Miss  B.  at  the  Piano 

91  The  Farm 

92  Farmyard  After  Rain 

93  In  the  Garden 

SWANE,  Sigurd,  Copenhagen 

SlGURD  Swane  was  born  the  16  June,  1879  at  Frederiks- 
berg,  Copenhagen.  During  1900-1902  he  studied  at  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  and  from  1904  to  1906  was  under 
the  sound  and  stimulating  guidance  of  Kristian  Zahrtmann. 
He  meanwhile,  before  going  to  Zahrtmann,  made  his  debut 
at  Charlottenborg,  and  in  1907,  after  completing  his  studies 
at  home,  spent  considerable  time  in  Paris.  It  was  in  Paris 
that  he  absorbed  to  the  full  the  new  gospel  which  at  that 


90 


LAURITZ  ANDERSEN  RING  —  From  a  photograph 


91 


period  had  barely  become  known  in  Copenhagen,  and  on 
his  return  naturally  cast  his  lot  with  the  Frie  Udstilling  of 
which  he  is  one  of  its  strongest  pillars.  Swane’s  work  is 
marked  by  a  pronounced  degree  of  colouristic  vigour  and 
beauty.  He  also  draws  with  freedom  and  power,  and  his 
grasp  of  character  is  uncommonly  sure.  In  that  great 
struggle  for  self-expression  along  novel  and  independent 
lines,  that  fight  for  simplification  of  contour  and  of  tone 
which  is  so  completely  changing  the  complexion  of  modern 
painting,  Swane  is  already  making  his  personality  felt,  and 
will  doubtless  prove  a  prominent  factor  in  the  forward 
march  of  contemporary  Danish  art. 

94  Four  Artists 

95  Early  Spring 

96  The  Forest,  Afternoon 


SYBERG,  Christian  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Heinrich, 
Copenhagen 

Fritz  Syberg,  as  he  is  somewhat  more  expeditiously 
known,  was  born  the  28  July,  1862  at  Faaborg,  and  it  is  as 
a  prominent  member  of  Den  fynske  Skole  that  he  takes  well 
defined  place  in  the  minds  of  the  Danish  public.  Like  his 
comrades  Johannes  Larsen  and  Peter  Hansen,  a  pupil  of 
Kristian  Zahrtmann,  with  whom  he  studied  from  1885  to 
1891,  Syberg  made  his  debut  at  Charlottenborg,  and  sub¬ 
sequently  joined  the  Frie  Udstilling  where  he  has  regularly 
exhibited  since  1893.  At  different  intervals  he  has  con¬ 
tinued  the  study  and  practice  of  his  profession  in  Germany, 
Italy,  and  Paris,  and  from  1909  has  resided  in  Pisa.  While 
in  no  sense  brilliant  or  dexterous,  the  art  of  Fritz  Syberg 
compensates  for  any  seeming  lack  of  manipulative  mastery 
by  its  manifest  sincerity  of  purpose  and  fidelity  to  fact. 
There  is  an  inborn  as  well  as  voluntary  rusticity  of  theme 
and  treatment  to  the  work  of  this  particular  group  which 
at  once  commends  their  production  to  the  quiescent,  home- 


92 


SIGURD  SWANE  —  Portrait  of  self 


93 


loving  Danes.  They  represent  that  national  note  in 
Danish  painting  so  dear  to  Director  Madsen,  and  which, 
though  it  is  never  lost,  is  at  times  in  danger  of  being  obscured 
by  extraneous  influences. 


97  The  First  Day  of  Spring 

98  September  Sunshine 

99  Gulls  at  Meilo 

100  Sunshine  and  Mist,  Kattegat 


WE  I  HE,  Edvard,  Copenhagen 

Edvard  WEIHE  was  born  the  18  November,  1879 
and  received  his  preliminary  training  at  Copenhagen  under 
Zahrtmann  during  1905-07.  It  is,  however,  Paris  and  the 
restless  ferment  of  latter  day  artistic  effort  which  have 
had  the  most  pronounced  influence  upon  him  as,  indeed, 
upon  so  many  of  the  younger  Copenhagen  painters  of  his 
generation.  He  has  lately  joined  the  Frie  Udstilling  where 
his  recent  canvases  displayed  distinct  traces  of  that  wave 
of  wholesome  radicalism  which  is  at  present  causing  con¬ 
sternation  among  the  ranks  of  the  timid  and  conservative 
devotees  of  precedent.  Weihe  is  to-day  engaged  in  casting 
off  the  shackles  of  a  smooth,  insipid  beauty  that  has  long 
since  lost  all  significance  and  seeking,  in  the  sturdier  and 
more  simplified  creed  of  the  progressives,  a  characteristic 
esthetic  programme.  Judged  according  to  the  most 
advanced  standards  he  cannot  be  called  an  extremist, 
though  he  is  thus  regarded  in  Copenhagen,  and  will  doubt¬ 
less  be  considered  even  more  so  in  America.  It  is  such 
young  men  as  Swane  and  Weihe  who  should  help  to  con¬ 
vince  us  that  we  are  artistically  stagnant,  and  their  presence 
in  the  current  exhibition  is  to  say  the  least — opportune. 

101  Portrait  of  My  Mother 

102  Flower  Market,  Copenhagen 


94 


EDVARD  WEIHE  — Portrait  of  self 


95 


WILLUMSEN,  Jens  Ferdinand,  Hellerup 
Jens  Ferdinand  Willumsen  was  borti  the  7 
September,  1863  at  Copenhagen,  and  received  his  prelimin¬ 
ary  training  at  the  Technical  Institute,  later  entering  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts  where  he  remained  from  1881  to 
1884,  subsequently  studying  for  a  time  under  Knoyer. 
His  first  public  appearance  was  made  at  Charlottenborg 
in  1883  and  after  a  brief  period  of  work  and  struggle  in 
Copenhagen,  he  settled  in  Paris  where  he  resided  continu¬ 
ously  for  over  a  decade.  Few  artists  have  displayed  such 
restless  creative  activity  or  attacked  so  many  different 
phases  of  esthetic  endeavour.  Willumsen  is  not  alone  a 
painter,  but  also  sculptor,  architect,  and  decorative  de¬ 
signer.  In  1891,  largely  through  his  efforts,  was  organized 
the  now  famous  Frie  Udstilling  which  has  played  such  an 
important  role  in  the  emancipation  of  modern  Danish 
painting.  From  1897  to  1900  he  was  Artistic  Director  of 
Bing  and  Gr^mdahl’s  Pottery,  to  which  firm  his  efforts 
lent  unexampled  prestige.  It  was  again  Willumsen  who 
was  mainly  responsible  for  the  success  of  the  Friluftsteatret 
or  Open  Air  Theatre  at  Dyrehaven  and,  in  brief,  no  one 
save  perhaps  the  late  Thorvald  Bindesb^edl  has  left  so 
strongly  personal  a  stamp  upon  the  varied  field  of  current 
Danish  artistic  development.  Willumsen  is  an  avowed 
internationalist  in  his  attitude.  He  is  the  enemy  of  that 
confiding  provincialism  so  dear  to  many  of  the  Danes  even 
in  these  progressive  days.  He  holds  that  art  is  a  universal 
language,  and  flaunts  his  viewpoint  squarely  in  the  face 
of  the  Copenhagen  public.  For  years  his  pictures,  so  un¬ 
compromisingly  modern  in  feeling  and  technique,  aroused 
the  angry  scorn  or  good  natured  sarcasm  of  his  countrymen, 
but  recently  the  tide  has  turned  in  his  favour.  The  day 
has  been  won  through  sheer  force  of  his  superb  creative 
energy  and  enthusiasm,  and  he  now  enjoys  a  rapidly 
increasing  prestige  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Like  Munch 
in  Norway,  Willumsen  is  one  of  the  young  Titans  of  con¬ 
temporary  Scandinavian  art,  a  trifle  battle-scarred  perhaps, 


96 


A  ^  ^  \jJ 


J.  F.  WILLUMSEN  — Portrait  by  Johan  Rohde 


97 


for  his  fight  has  been  a  long  and  bitter  one,  yet  the  victory — 
and  the  vindication — have  fortunately  not  come  too  late. 

103  Youth  and  Sunshine 

104  The  Painter  and  His  Family 

105  A  Mother’s  Dream 

106  The  Mountain  Climber 

107  Paseo  de  las  Delicias,  Sevilla 

108  Plaza  de  San  Fernando,  Sevilla 

109  Sehora  de  Valencia 

110  Summer  Night,  Denmark 

PORCELAIN 

ROYAL  COPENHAGEN 

111  VILHELM  FISCHER  —  Vase,  Pelican 

Motive 

112  VILHELM  FISCHER  —  Vase,  Heron 

Motive 

113  C.  MORTENSEN  —  Vase,  Danish  Land¬ 

scape  Motive 

114  C.  MORTENSEN—  Vase,  Crow  Motive 

115  Small  Pieces,  Various  Motives 


98 


NORWEGIAN  SECTION 


Under  the  Gracious  Patronage  of 


HIS  MAJESTY  HAAKON  VII 

King  of  Norway 


EDVARD  DIRIKS  —  Portrait  of  self 


100 


PAINTINGS 


DIRIKS,  Karl  Edvard,  Dr0bak 

EDVARD  Diriks  was  born  the  9  June,  1855  in  Chris¬ 
tiania,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  went  to  Germany  with 
the  intention  of  devoting  himself  to  architecture.  He 
studied  successively  in  Stuttgart,  Karlsruhe,  and  Berlin, 
and  it  was  in  the  latter  city,  while  a  pupil  at  the  Bauaka- 
demie  that,  under  the  influence  of  his  countryman  Christian 
Krohg  and  the  magnetic  German,  Max  Klinger,  he  re¬ 
nounced  architecture  and  found  more  congenial  expression 
in  the  field  of  painting.  He  shortly  repaired  to  Weimar 
where,  after  a  brief  period  under  Theodor  Hagen,  he  re¬ 
turned  to  Christiania  in  1879  and  has  subsequently  divided 
his  time  between  Norway  and  Paris.  Diriks  is  one  of  the 
heroic  figures  of  contemporary  Norwegian  art.  He  was 
intimately  connected  with  the  great  struggle  for  clearer 
vision  and  cleaner  palette,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest 
Scandinavian  exponents  of  Impressionism.  He  is  to-day 
that  rare  and  welcome  phenomenon — a  man  of  middle 
age  who  has  remained  fresh  and  buoyant  in  feeling  and  in 
brush  stroke.  The  fight  for  recognition  at  home  was  for 
his  generation  a  long  and  bitter  one,  but  he  enjoys  at  last 
assured  position  as  a  poetic  and  colourful  interpreter  of 
the  changing  beauty  of  fjord,  mountain,  and  sky. 

116  Clouds  Mirrored  in  the  Sea 

117  Pine  Trees  by  the  Fjord 

ERICHSEN,  Thorvald,  Gudbrandsdalen 

THORVALD  Erichsen  was  born  the  18  July,  1868  in 
Trondhjem.  After  beginning  his  artistic  studies  in  Berg- 
slien’s  School  in  Christiania  he  went  to  Copenhagen  where, 
in  company  with  other  young  compatriots,  he  spent  some 
time  under  the  sagacious  and  inspiring  eye  of  Kristian 
Zahrtmann.  In  order  further  to  enlarge  his  vision  and 


101 


develop  his  maturing  taste  he  later  visited  Paris  and  Italy, 
returning  home  to  identify  himself  with  that  significant 
movement  which  in  the  ’nineties  was  headed  by  such  men 
as  Sohlberg  and  Egedius,  and  which  may  be  characterized 
as  the  new  romanticism.  Erichsen,  however,  possesses 
distinctly  more  painterlike  qualities  than  either  of  the 
foregoing  artists.  His  technique  is  freer  and  more  ex¬ 
pressive,  and  he  has  learned,  possibly  from  the  Danes,  to 
give  his  work  a  soft,  almost  luscious  richness  of  tone  and 
texture  quite  unlike  Sohlberg’s  more  constrained  surfaces. 
His  most  important  canvases  have  been  painted  in  Gud- 
brandsdalen,  and  such  of  those  as  attain  the  excellence  of 
the  Telemarken  Landscape  in  the  National  Gallery  are 
certainly  a  distinct  contribution  to  Scandinavian  art. 

118  Twilight 

119  Snow  After  Sunset 

120  Red  Cliffs 


FOLKESTAD,  Bernhard,  Christiania 

Bernhard  Folkestad  was  born  the  13  June, 
1879  in  London,  and  received  his  preliminary  training  in 
Copenhagen  and  Paris,  exhibiting  for  the  first  time  at 
Christiania  in  1901.  In  common  with  Wold-Tome, 
Erichsen,  and  other  young  Norwegians  who  have  come 
under  Danish  influences,  Folkestad  displays  an  opulent 
harmony  of  vision  which  has  added  a  welcome  note  to 
modern  Norwegian  painting.  There  is  indeed  nothing 
in  the  art  of  the  past  generation  that  in  any  way  challenges 
comparison  with  these  splendidly  seen  and  eloquently 
handled  bits  of  fruit  and  flowers  or  these  studies  of  poultry 
feeding  in  sunlit  cottage  kitchen-garden.  The  talented 
group  to  which  Folkestad  belongs  seems  to  have  decided  in 
favour  of  tonalism  instead  of  crisply  dazzling  outdoor 
effects.  Their  work  is  always  discreetly  sumptuous  in 
colouring.  It  is  an  appeal  to  the  senses  rather  than  a 
scientific  analysis  of  light  or  a  rigorously  simplified  arrange- 


102 


THORVALD  ERICHSEN  —  From  a  photograph 


103 


ment  of  line.  They  are  avowed  beauty  lovers,  these  men, 
and  as  such  their  art  year  by  year  gains  both  in  distinction 
and  in  maturity  of  utterance. 

121  Still-life 

122  Summer  Day 

HOLMBOE,  Thorlof,  Christiania 

THORLOF  HOLMBOE  was  born  the  10  May,  1866  in 
Vefsen,  Helgeland,  and  from  the  age  of  six  exhibited  dis¬ 
tinct  talent  for  drawing.  In  1886,  somewhat  before — it 
must  be  added  in  extenuation — that  the  old  regime  was 
completely  swept  away,  he  went  to  Berlin  in  order  to  pursue 
his  studies  under  Hans  Gude.  After  a  brief  interval  passed 
in  Christiania  he  turned  toward  France,  studying  for  awhile 
in  Paris  with  Bonnat  and  Cormon.  A  confirmed  traveller, 
and  a  manifest  cosmopolitan  in  his  general  attitude  toward 
life  and  art,  Holmboe  is  nevertheless  fundamentally  Nor¬ 
wegian  in  his  artistic  expression.  He  was  for  a  time  more 
or  less  closely  identified  with  the  younger  romantic  group, 
and  particularly  in  his  illustrations  attained  heights  of 
decorative  romanticism  which  placed  him  quite  by  himself. 
Of  late  his  style  has  considerably  broadened  and  his  colour¬ 
ing  has  become  more  positive,  and  there  is  to-day  in  these 
wind-tossed  pines  and  towering,  snow  covered  peaks  a  note 
of  vigour  and  virility  which  is  alone  the  gift  of  a  true  son 
of  the  Northland.  Happily  for  his  progress,  Holmboe 
early  repudiated  the  .-academic  pedentry  of  Bonnat  and 


Cormon. 

123 

Mountains,  Lofoten 

124 

Landscape  with  Pine  Trees 

125 

Autumn 

126 

View  of  Christiania  Fjord 

126A 

Landscape 

104 


105 


KARSTEN,  Ludvig  Peter,  Christiania 

Ludvig  Karsten  was  born  the  8  May,  1878  at  Chris¬ 
tiania,  and  prepared  himself  for  his  future  career  at  the 
Munich  Academy  and  in  Paris  under  Eugene  Carriere. 
His  first  appearance  as  a  professional  painter  was  made  at 
Christiania  in  1901,  since  which  date  he  has  travelled, 
studied,  and  resided  at  different  intervals  in  Germany, 
Italy,  Spain,  and  France.  The  most  powerful  and  decisive 
influence  in  Karsten’s  esthetic  development  has  been  that 
exercised  by  the  compelling  personality  of  his  own  country¬ 
man,  Edvard  Munch.  From  Munch  Karsten  has  learned 
much,  yet  in  the  end  without  undue  sacrifice  of  his  own 
sovereign  artistic  individuality.  The  freest  draughtsman, 
and  the  boldest,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  subtlest 
colourists  of  the  younger  Norwegian  school,  Karsten  has 
already  placed  to  his  credit  a  number  of  exceptionally 
interesting  canvases.  His  temperament  is  restless,  he  is 
constantly  seeking  new  and  fresh  effects  and  may  without 
hesitation  be  pronounced  one  of  the  most  talented  figures 
in  present  day  Norwegian  art.  It  would  indeed  be  hard 
to  find  anywhere  a  man  of  his  age  possessing  such  a  vigorous 
grasp  of  character  and  such  chromatic  strength. 

127  Still-life 


KAVLI,  Arne  Texnes,  Christiania 

Arne  Kavli  was  born  27  May,  1878  in  Bergen,  and 
received  his  first  restricted  initiation  into  the  world  of 
artistic  expression  at  the  Technical  School  in  his  native 
city,  afterward  studying  in  Copenhagen  under  Krdyer, 
at  the  Antwerp  Academy,  and  in  Paris.  The  son  of  a 
well  known  actor,  it  is  not  unnatural  that  Kavli  should 
from  the  outset  have  excelled  in  the  province  of  character 
interpretation  and  portraiture.  His  debut  was  made  at  the 
Bergen  Kunstforening  in  1895,  since  which  date  his  efforts 
have  been  attended  with  no  little  success  and  have  seldom 
failed  to  enlist  the  most  discriminating  interest  and  appre- 


106 


LUDVIG  KARSTEN  —  Portrait  of  self 


107 


ciation.  It  was  toward  the  subtle,  almost  monochromatic 
harmonies  of  Whistler  and  the  sober,  decorative  vision  of 
William  Nicholson  that  Kavli  first  turned  for  sympathetic 
assistance,  achieving  at  this  period  effects  that  were  not 
alone  imitative  but  at  times  even  inspiritional.  Of  late, 
however,  his  eyes  have  been  cast  in  the  direction  of  Paris, 
and  more  especially  attracted  by  the  violet  grey  clarity  and 
broad,  expressive  contour  of  Cezanne.  Yet  Kavli’s  recent 
landscapes  from  West  Norway  and  the  Christiania  Fjord 
are  no  more  lacking  in  individuality  than  were  the  early 
portraits  and  figure  compositions. 

128  In  the  Pine  Forest 

129  Grey  Day 

130  Northern  Summer  Night 


KROHG,  Christian,  Drpbak 

CHRISTIAN  KROHG  was  bom  the  13  August,  1852  in 
Christiania.  Educated  for  the  bar  he  was  however  not 
slow  to  relinquish  the  law  and  begin  the  study  of  painting 
which  he  did  in  1873  as  a  pupil  of  Gussow  at  Karlsruhe. 
When  the  latter  removed  to  Berlin  Krohg  followed,  continu¬ 
ing  his  apprenticeship  under  the  same  master  from  1875 
to  1878.  He  visited  Paris  for  the  first  time  in  1880  and  a 
decade  later  returned  for  a  sojourn  of  several  years.  Un¬ 
questionably  the  most  picturesque  figure  in  contemporary 
Norwegian  art,  Christian  Krohg  early  made  his  reputation 
as  a  hardy  and  uncompromising  exponent  of  naturalism 
with  distinctly  social  sympathies.  He  has  always  believed 
that  painting  should  express  brain  force  as  well  as  a  feeling 
for  beauty,  and  his  close  association  with  Klinger  in  Berlin, 
and  his  admiration  for  the  writings  of  the  Goncourts,  Zola, 
and  Maupassant  have  had  no  little  influence  upon  an 
inherently  intellectual  and  reasoning  temperament.  He 
stands  to-day  an  epic  figure,  the  once  phenomenal  power 
of  eye  and  hand  somewhat  diminished,  the  characteristic 
vigour  of  thought  unimpaired.  It  is  impossible  to  under- 


108 


Olf 

CHRISTIAN  KROHG — Portrait  of  self.  Collection  of  Otto  Benzon, 
Esq.,  Copenhagen 


109 


stand  the  development  of  Norwegian  painting  without 
visiting  Krohg  in  his  unpretentious  fjord-side,  home  at 
DrObak.  He  remains  the  sturdiest  and  most  consistent  of 
that  great  group  of  pioneer  naturalists  who  laid  the 
foundations  of  his  country’s  art. 


131  Portrait  of  Myself 

132  Dangerous  Waters 

133  “Look  Out!” 


KROHG,  Per,  Drpbak 

PER  KROHG,  the  indisputably  talented  son  of  Christian 
Krohg,  was  born  the  18  June,  1889  in  Asgardstrand,  near 
Christiania.  When  but  eight  years  of  age  he  went  to  live 
with  his  parents  at  the  home  of  his  uncle,  Fritz  Thaulow,  at 
Dieppe,  and  from  thence  onward  his  association  with  France 
and  particularly  with  the  modern  movement  in  contem¬ 
porary  French  art  has  been  close  and  intimate.  Before  ten 
he  was  sketching  at  the  Academie  Carlorossi  and  had  made 
his  debut  at  a  Children’s  Exhibition  at  the  Petit  Palais. 
At  fifteen  he  became  a  regular  pupil  at  Carlorossi’s  under 
his  father,  later  continuing  his  studies  with  Mile.  Olga  de 
Boznanska,  with  the  Spanish  painter  Anglada,  and  finally 
with  Henri-Matisse.  If  Christian  Krohg  represents  so 
staunchly  the  older  regime,  his  son  is  a  veritable  modern 
of  the  moderns,  and  has  already  grasped  considerably 
more  than  the  mere  rudiments  of  the  new  gospel.  He  ;s 
one  of  those  young  radicals  who  are  to-day  knocking  so 
lustily  and  so  eloquently  at  the  door,  and  to  whom  the  door 
cannot  fail  shortly  to  open. 


134  Danse 

135  Carnival 


no 


HENRIK  LUND  —  From  a  photograph 


111 


LUND,  Henrik  Louis,  Christiania 

Henrik  Lund  was  born  the  8  September,  1879  in 
Bergen,  and  received  his  preliminary  training  at  the  Chris¬ 
tiania  School  of  Design,  later  studying  in  Copenhagen  and 
travelling  extensively  in  Holland,  Belgium,  Germany, 
France,  and  Spain.  Although  virtually  self-taught,  Lund’s 
progress  was  rapid,  he  having  won  in  quick  succession  the 
Thaulow  Prize,  Schaffer’s  Stipend,  and  the  State  Stipend. 
While  the  chief  esthetic  influence  during  the  formative 
stages  of  his  development  was  unquestionably  that  of 
Edvard  Munch,  Henrik  Lund  to-day  stands  squarely  upon 
his  own  feet,  his  achievements  in  the  province  of  impres¬ 
sionistic  portraiture,  landscape,  and  genre  being  marked 
by  pronounced  individuality  of  tone  and  treatment.  His 
accurate  and  ready  analysis  of  character  is  little  short  of 
phenomenal,  and  his  stroke  unexcelled  in  contemporary 
Norwegian  art  for  spirited  freedom  and  breadth.  In 
point  of  colour  Lund’s  work  is  typically  Northern  in  its 
fresh,  blond  clarity.  If,  indeed,  one  were  to  venture  a 
comment  in  connection  with  such  brilliant  production  as 
he  has  already  placed  to  his  credit  it  would  merely  be 
to  the  effect  that  he  possibly  suffers  from  a  sheer  super¬ 
abundance  of  talent.  Once  he  attains  maturity,  and  com¬ 
plete  sovereignity  over  his  truly  astonishing  powers,  there 
is  literally  nothing  Lund  should  not  be  able  to  accomplish 
after  his  own  vigorous,  stimulating  fashion. 


136  Andreas  and  Margit 

137  Portrait  of  Hans  Jaeger 

138  Portrait  of  Herman  Gade,  Esq. 

139  Portrait  of  Gunnar  Heiberg 

140  Landscape 

141  Portrait  of  Finn  Rpnn 


112 


EDVARD  MUNCH  —  Portrait  of  self. 


113 


MUNCH,  EDVARD,  Hvitsten 

Edvard  Munch  was  born  the  12  December,  1863  at 
Lcriten,  Hedemarken,  and  following  the  removal  of  his 
parents  to  Christiania  began  his  artistic  training  at  the 
Royal  School  of  Design,  later  studying  with  Christian 
Krohg  and  in  Paris  under  Bonnat.  His  debut  took  place 
at  the  autumn  exhibition  of  1883,  from  which  date  his 
periodical  appearances  in  Christiania  art  circles  have  been 
the  signal  for  the  most  bitter  and  insensate  campaign  of 
wilful  misinterpretation  and  villification  that  could  pos¬ 
sibly  be  imagined.  The  battle  waged  a  generation  before 
against  the  apostles  of  naturalism  was  nothing  compared 
with  the  chorus  of  crude  denunciation  which  has  been 
heaped  upon  Edvard  Munch.  About  1900,  however, 
Munch,  like  Ibsen,  was  fortunate  in  finding  a  valiant, 
authoritative  champion  in  Director  Thiis,  whose  services 
in  behalf  of  the  young  painter  in  many  respects  recall 
those  which  Georg  Brandes  rendered  the  sorely  maligned 
poet  and  dramatist.  Ibsen  and  Munch  have  in  addition 
not  a  little  in  common.  They  are  both  poets  at  heart, 
they  are  both  exponents  of  that  psychic  restlessness  so 
characteristic  of  the  Norwegian  temperament,  and  they 
both  look  at  life  with  searching,  penetrant  gaze,  seeking  not 
the  obvious  but  that  which  is  fundamentally  significant. 
Ever  since  the  appearance  of  the  first  version  of  The  Sick 
Child,  Munch  has  given  pictorial  form  to  one  of  two 
typical  themes — sickness  or  sex.  You  will  find  in  these 
beseechingly  beautiful  or  feverishly  troubled  canvases, 
now  the  most  exalted  and  sensitive  response  to  human  suf¬ 
fering,  now  the  scarlet  trail  of  the  serpent. 

142  The  Sick  Child 

143  Portrait  of  Hermann  Schlittgen 

144  In  the  Garden 

145  Summer  Night 

146  Starlit  Night 

147  In  the  Orchard 


114 


EILIF  PETERSSEN  —  Portrait  of  self 


115 


ONSAGER,  S0ren,  Christiania 

S0REN  ONSAGER  was  born  the  6  October,  1878  in 
Holmestrand,  and  received  his  early  artistic  training  from 
the  well  known  Norwegian  painter  of  interiors  Harriet 
Backer,  afterward  studying  in  Copenhagen  under  Kristian 
Zahrtmann.  As  the  recepient  of  both  the  Finne  and  the 
Rosenkrans  Stipends,  each  of  which  he  was  twice  awarded, 
he  has  been  enabled  to  travel  and  study  at  considerable 
leisure  on  the  Continent,  having  visited  at  different  inter¬ 
vals  France,  Italy,  and  Spain,  and  at  one  period  passing 
considerable  time  in  Paris  where  he  made  successful  entry 
at  the  Salon  in  1908.  It  is  in  the  province  of  figure  painting 
that  Onsager  excels,  his  sketches  of  young  girls  and  maidens 
asleep  or  in  the  act  of  adorning  themselves  having  of  late 
years  proved  his  favourite  themes.  Onsager  is  a  delicate 
and  spirited  draughtsman,  and  a  colourist  of  considerable 
independence  of  taste  and  vision.  He  belongs  without 
question  to  the  advanced  group  of  young  Norwegian 
painters  who  owe  not  a  little  to  the  contemporary  French¬ 
men,  yet  like  most  of  them  is  able  to  reveal  his  personality 
in  fresh  and  congenial  fashion. 

148  Sisters 

149  Girls  Asleep 

150  Young  Girl 


PETERSSEN,  Hjalmar  Eilif  Emanuel,  Lysaker 

Eilif  PETERSSEN  was  born  the  4  September,  1852  in 
Christiania,  beginning  his  studies  with  Eckersberg  in  his 
native  city  and  subsequently  continuing  at  the  Copenhagen 
Academy,  at  Karlsruhe,  and  at  the  Royal  Academy, 
Munich,  under  Professor  Diez.  Like  Krohg  and  Weren- 
skiold,  Eilif  Peterssen  belongs  with  the  old  guard  whose 
ranks  are  year  by  year  growing  thinner.  He  stands  in  the 
history  of  modern  Norwegian  painting  as  a  transition 
figure.  He  has  enjoyed  unusual  prestige  in  his  profession. 


116 


has  been  awarded  numerous  distinctions,  and  has  placed 
to  his  credit  many  admirable  canvases,  yet  he  has  rarely 
displayed  that  compelling,  whole-hearted  conviction  which 
so  notably  characterizes  the  work  of  Krohg.  The  rich, 
dark  tonality  of  Munich  days  and  a  lingering  love  for  the 
discreet  sumptuousness  of  the  Venetians  alternates  in  his 
production  with  the  open  air  stimulus  and  clarity  of  a 
later  date.  A  conscientious  and  scholarly  craftsman, 
Eilif  Peterssen  has  given  proof  of  his  powers  in  landscape, 
portraiture,  genre,  and  decorative  composition.  He  attains 
perhaps  highest  rank  in  his  likenesses  of  the  sturdy  and 
thoughtful  men  and  women  of  his  generation — a  generation 
rich  in  significant  personalities,  among  whom  he  himself 
has  won  enduring  place. 

151  Osterdalen  Sater 

152  Summer  Night,  Western  Norway 

SKREDSVIG,  Christian,  Eggedal 

CHRISTIAN  SKREDSVIG  was  born  12  March,  1855  in 
Modum,  and  received  his  preliminary  training  from  Eckers- 
berg  in  Christiania  and  Vilhelm  Kyhn,  Copenhagen.  He 
continued  his  studies  in  Munich  from  1875  to  1879,  and  in 
Paris  from  1880  to  1885.  A  year  or  more  was  spent  at 
Grez,  and  it  was  there  that  Skredsvig  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  talented  Swedish  painter  Ernst  Josephson  and  with 
him  journeyed  to  Spain.  It  was  not,  however,  the  mag¬ 
netic  Josephson  who  most  influenced  the  young  Norwegian 
but  the  considerably  milder  Frenchmen,  Corot,  Millet, 
and  Bastien-Lepage.  Skredsvig,  who,  despite  his  humble 
origin,  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  affect  the  delicacy  of  hand¬ 
ling  and  somewhat  monotonously  grey  tonality  of  the 
Frenchmen  of  the  early  ’eighties,  has  won  perhaps  greater 
distinction  abroad  than  at  home.  The  celebrated  canvas 
Menneskens  s0n  in  the  Christiania  National  Gallery  dis¬ 
plays  considerably  more  social  sentimentality  than  sound - 


117 


ness  of  observation,  and  indeed  most  of  his  work  suffers 
from  similar  defects. 


153  Astray 


SOHLBERG,  Harald,  Christiania 

HARALD  SOHLBERG  was  born  the  29  November,  1869 
in  Christiania,  and  received  the  groundwork  of  his  artistic 
training  at  the  Royal  School  of  Design  in  his  native  city, 
also  studying  for  a  brief  period  with  Sven  Jdrgensen  at 
Slagen.  On  leaving  Jdrgensen  he  went  for  a  time  to 
Werenskiold  and  to  Harriet  Backer,  completing  his  appren¬ 
ticeship  under  Zahrtmann  in  Copenhagen,  and  later  spend¬ 
ing  a  year  at  Weimar  and  another  year  in  Paris.  The  decade 
from  1890  to  1900  found  Sohlberg  among  the  group  known 
as  the  new  romanticists,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  the 
late  Halfdan  Egedius,  but  since  then,  and  particularly 
after  he  settled  amid  the  primitive  isolation  of  Rdros,  where 
he  resided  winter  and  summer,  he  has  revealed  himself  as 
a  wholly  original  and  independent  artistic  personality. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  entire  range  of  Scandinavian  painting 
comparable  with  these  carefully  wrought  and  tensely  keyed 
canvases.  To  the  patient  exactitude  of  the  Italian  primi¬ 
tives,  as  seen  in  the  pellucid  landscape  backgrounds  of 
panels  Tuscan  or  Umbrian,  has  been  added,  with  kindred 
restraint,  all  the  grandeur  and  austerity  of  the  North  with 
star-studded  sky  and  illimitable  stretch  of  snow  covered 
mountain.  Sohlberg’s  canvases  possess  to  a  wellnigh 
unique  degree  the  quality  of  emotional  concentration. 

154  Autumn  Landscape 

155  Fisherman’s  Cottage 

156  Mountains,  Winter  Landscape 

157  Afternoon 

158  Wagon  Road 


118 


HARALD  SOHLBERG  —  Portrait  of  self 


119 


WERENSKIOLD,  Dagfin,  Lysaker 

Dagfin  WERENSKIOLD  was  born  in  1892  in  Chris¬ 
tiania,  and  is  the  son  of  the  well  known  portrait  and  landscape 
painter  and  illustrator  Erik  Werenskiold.  This  talented 
youth,  who  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest  ex¬ 
hibitor  in  the  present  display,  studied  with  his  father  and 
also  in  Paris  where  he  naturally  became  allied  with  the 
modern  group  of  French  painters.  It  is  not,  however,  with 
brush  and  palette  that  Dagfin  Werenskiold  is  seen  to  best 
advantage,  but  in  the  field  of  decorative  wood-carving. 
Already  an  accomplished  craftsman,  he  not  only  designs 
but  cuts  and  colours  these  clearly  conceived  and  boldly 
executed  panels.  His  favourite  motives  are  birds  and 
flowers  or  decoratively  distributed  foliage,  and  his  work  is 
strong  in  accent  and  discreetly  vigourous  in  tone.  It  is  in¬ 
teresting  to  watch  this  slender,  blond  giant  patiently  carving 
one  of  his  compositions  on  the  piazza  of  the  family  home 
at  Lysaker.  There  is  much  of  the  old  Norse  spirit  alike 
in  this  work  and  in  the  youthful  workman.  It  strikes  a 
healthy,  virile  note,  and  implies  a  concentration  and  self- 
discipline  manifestly  lacking  in  the  production  of  certain 
of  the  young  painters  of  his  generation. 

159  Turkey  Cock  Family — Decorative  Panel 


WERENSKIOLD,  Erik  Theodor,  Lysaker 

Erik  Werenskiold  was  born  the  11  February,  1855 
in  Kongsvinger,  and  after  studying  at  the  University  of 
Christiania  began  his  artistic  training  at  the  Royal  School 
of  Design.  From  1876  to  1880  he  attended  the  Munich 
Academy  in  the  classes  of  Professors  Lofftz  and  Linden- 
schmidt,  and  from  1881  to  1883  continued  his  apprenticeship 
in  Paris,  to  which  city  he  has  returned  at  subsequent  in¬ 
tervals.  His  debut  was  made  at  Christiania  in  1878  with 
an  admirable  portrait  of  his  father,  since  which  date  he 
has  devoted  his  energies  alternately  to  portraiture,  illu¬ 
stration,  and  landscape,  mainly  in  combination  with  the 


120 


ERIK  WERENSKIOLD  —  Portrait  of  self 


121 


O.  WOLD  -TORNE  —  Portrait  of  self 


122 


figure.  Werenskiold  enjoys  a  prestige  second  to  that  of  no 
living  Norwegian  artist.  While  it  is  possible  that  he  may  be 
longest  remembered  through  his  series  of  earnest,  characterful 
portraits  of  the  leading  figures  of  his  day — Ibsen,  Bjprnson, 
Collett  etc.,  he  has  lately  added  not  a  little  to  his  varied 
accomplishment  by  embracing,  with  studious  sincerity  and 
rare  open-mindedness,  the  best  features  of  the  modern 
movement.  He  lives  on  the  pine-crested  heights  of  Lysaker, 
overlooking  the  Christiania  Fjord,  drawing  daily  from 
nature  fresh  stimulus  and  inspiration  and,  like  nature, 
illustrating  the  eternal  principle  of  self-rejuvenation. 

160  Two  Little  Girls 

161  Norwegian  Boy 

162  By  the  Christiania  Fjord 

163  Flowers 


WOLD-TORNE,  Oluf,  Christiania 

O.  WOLD-TORNE  was  born  the  7  November,  1867  in  Soon, 
and,  as  has  been  the  case  with  so  many  of  the  gifted  young 
Norwegian  painters  of  the  day,  received  his  preliminary 
training  under  Kristian  Zahrtmann  in  Copenhagen.  On 
leaving  Zahrtmann  he  went  to  Paris  where  he  studied  awhile 
with  Roll,  and  subsequently  travelled  on  the  Continent. 
His  debut  was  made  in  1893,  and  though  he  has  devoted 
his  energies  with  no  little  success  to  portraiture  and  land¬ 
scape,  his  most  congenial  field  is  that  of  the  decorative  arts, 
his  designs  for  book -bindings,  tapestry,  porcelain,  and 
faience  marking  a  veritable  epoch  in  Norwegian  ornamental 
handicraft. 

164  Portrait  of  Self 

165  Flowers 


123 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


127 


(2)  ANNA  BOBERG  —  At  Rest,  Sunday 


129 


(9)  H.  R.  H.  PRINCE  EUGEN  —  After  Rain 


(12)  GUSTAF  A.  FJ^ESTAD  —  Hoarfrost 


131 


(15)  GUSTAF  A.  FJ7ESTAD  —  Ripples 


(121)  BERNHARD  FOLKESTAD  —  Still-life 


\ 


132 


133 


(64)  VILHELM  HAMMERSH0I  —  Kronborg,  Hamlet’s  Castle. 
Collection  of  Dr.  Alfred  Bramsen,  Copenhagen 


134 


(63)  VILHELM  HAMMERSH0I  — Sunbeams.  Collection  of 
Dr.  Alfred  Bramsen,  Copenhagen 


135 


(25)  OTTO  HESSELBOM  —  My  Country 


(124)  THORLOF  HOLMBOE  —  Landscape  with  Pine  Trees 


137 


138 


(127)  LUDVIG  KARSTEN  —  Still-life 


(131)  CHRISTIAN  KROHG  —  Portrait  of  Myself 


139 


(135)  PER  KROHG  —  Carnival 


140 


141 


(38)  BRUNO  A.  LILJEFORS  —  Foxes.  Courtesy  of  Mrs.  Joseph  T.  Jones  and  the  Albright 
Art  Gallery,  Buffalo 


142 


(34)  CARL  LARSSON  —  Theatrical  Cogitations 


143 


(31)  CARL  LARSSON  —  Shelling  Peas 


(137)  HENRIK  LUND  —  Portrait  of  Hans  Jseger 


144 


(136)  HENRIK  LUND  — Andreas  and  Margit 


(80)  VIGGO  MADSEN  —  View  from  My  Bedroom  Window 


146 


(142)  EDVARD  MUNCH  — The  Sick  Child 


J 


147 


148 


(147)  EDVARD  MUNCH  — In  the  Orchard 


% 


149 


(81)  E1NAR  NIELSEN  —  Evening  Bells 


150 


(148)  S0REN  ONSAGER  —  Sisters 


-! { 


(84)  JULIUS  PAULSEN  —  Portrait  of  Baron  Rosenkrantz 


151 


152 


(156)  HARALD  SOHLBERG  —  Mountains,  Winter  Landscape 


(94)  SIGURD  SWANE  —  Four  Artists 


153 


(97)  FRITZ  SYBERG  —  The  First  Day  of  Spring 


154 


(101)  EDVARD  WEIHE  —  Portrait  of  my  Mother 


156 


M 


(103)  J.  F.  WILLUMSEN  —  Youth  and  Sunshine 


(105)  J.  F.  WILLUMSEN  — A  Mother’s  Dream 


157 


(42)  ANDERS  L.  ZORN  —  Matins  on  Christmas  Day 


158 


(46  A)  ANDERS  L.  ZORN  — Hall  Kesti 

Collection  of  Hugo  Reisinger,  Esq.,  New  York 


159 


LIST  OF  ARTISTS 


Bindesb0ll,  Thorvald 

Page 

77 

Boberg,  Anna . 

55 

Diriks,  Edvard . 

101 

Edstrom,  David  .... 

68 

Eugen,  H.  R.  H.,  Prince  Eugen 

56 

Erichsen,  Thorvald  .... 

101,  102 

Fischer,  Vilhelm  .... 

98 

Fjsestad,  Gustaf  Adolf 

56,  58 

Folkestad,  Bernhard 

102, 104 

Giersing,  Harald  .... 

78 

Hallstrom,  Gunnar  .... 

60 

Hammersh0i,  Vilhelm 

78,  80 

Hesselbom,  Otto  .... 

60,  62 

Holmboe,  Thorlof  .... 

104 

J0rgensen,  Axel  .... 

82 

Karsten,  Ludvig  .... 

106 

Kavli,  Arne . 

.  106,  108 

Krohg,  Christian  .... 

108,110 

Krohg,  Per . 

110 

Kyhn,  Knud . 

82,84 

Larsen,  Johannes  .... 

84,  86 

Larsson,  Carl . 

62,  64 

Liljefors,  Bruno  A . 

64,  66 

161 


Lund,  Henrik 
Madsen,  Viggo  . 
Milles,  Carl 
Mortensen,  C.  . 
Munch,  Edvard 
Nielsen,  Einar  . 
Onsager,  S0ren 
Paulsen,  Julius  . 
Peterssen,  Eilif  . 
Pettersson,  Axel 
Ring,  Lauritz  A. 
Schou,  Karl 
Skredsvig,  Christian 
Sohlberg,  Harald 
Swane,  Sigurd  . 
Syberg,  Fritz 
Weihe,  Edvard 
Werenskiold,  Dagfin 
Werenskiold,  Erik 
Willumsen,  J.  F. 
Wold-Torne,  Oluf 
Zorn,  Anders  L. 


Page 

112 

86 
70 
98 
114 
86,  88 
116 
88,  89 

116,  117 
70,  73 

89 

90 

117,  118 
118 

90,  92 
92,94 
94 
120 
120, 123 
96,98 
123 
66,  68 


162 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Bindesb0ll,  Thorvald  —  Portrait  of  .  76 

Boberg,  Anna  —  Portrait  of . 54 

“  “  (2)  At  Rest,  Sunday .  .127 

Diriks,  Edvard,  Portrait  of . 100 

Eugen,  H.  R.  H.,  Prince  Eugen  —  Portrait  of  57 

“  “  “  “  (8)  Swedish  Summer 

Night  128 

“  “  “  “  (9)  After  Rain  129 

Fjaestad,  Gustaf  A.  —  Portrait  of  ....  59 

“  “  (12)  Hoarfrost  .  .130 

“  “  (15)  Ripples  .  .  ..  131 

Erichsen,  Thorvald  —  Portrait  of . 103 

Folkestad,  Bernhard  —  (121)  Still-life  132 

Giersing,  Harald  —  Portrait  of . 79 

Hallstrom,  Gunnar  —  Portrait  of . 61 

“  (22)  On  the  Frozen  Snow  133 

Hammershpi,  Vilhelm  —  Portrait  of  .  .  81 

“  “  (64)  Kronborg,  Hamlet’s 

Castle  134 

“  “  (63)  Sunbeams  .  .  135 

Hesselbom,  Otto  —  Portrait  of . 63 

“  “  (25)  My  Country  .  .136 

Holmboe,  Thorlof — Portrait  of . 105 

“  “  (124)  Landscape  with  Pine  Trees  137 


163 


j0rgensen,  Axel  —  Portrait  of . 

Karsten,  Ludvig  —  Portrait  of  .... 

“  “  (127)  Still-life  . 

Krohg,  Christian  —  Portrait  of . 

“  “  (131)  Portrait  of  Myself 

Krohg,  Per —  (135)  Carnival . 

Larsen,  Johannes  —  Portrait  of . 

Larsson,  Carl  —  Portrait  of . 

“  “  (34)  Theatrical  Cogitations 

“  “  (31)  Shelling  Peas  . 

Liljefors,  Bruno  A.  — Portrait  of . 

“  “  “  (38)  Foxes  . 

Lund,  Henrik  —  Portrait  of . 

“  “  (137)  Portrait  of  Hans  Jaeger  . 

“  “  (136)  Andreas  and  Margit 

Madsen,  Viggo  —  (80)  View  from  Bedroom  Window  . 

Milles,  Carl  —  Portrait  of . 

Munch,  Edvard  —  Portrait  of . 

“  “  (142)  The  Sick  Child  . 

“  “  (147)  In  the  Orchard 

Nielsen,  Einar  —  Portrait  of . 

“  “  (81)  Evening  Bells  . 

Onsager,  S0ren  —  (148)  Sisters . 

Paulsen,  Julius  —  (84)  Portrait  of  Baron  Rosenkrantz 


Page 

83 

107 

138 
109 

139 

140 
85 
65 

142 

143 

67 

141 
111 

144 

145 

146 
71 

113 

147 

148 
87 

149 

150 

151 


164 


Page 

Peterssen,  Eilif — Portrait  of . 115 

Pettersson,  Axel  —  Portrait  of . 72 

Ring,  Lauritz  A.  —  Portrait  of . 91 

Sohlberg,  Harald  —  Portrait  of . 119 


“  “  (156)  Mountains,  Winter  Land¬ 
scape  152 

Swane,  Sigurd  —  Portrait  of . 93 

(94)  Four  Artists  .153 

Syberg,  Fritz  —  (97)  The  First  Day  of  Spring  .  .154 

Weihe,  Edvard  —  Portrait  of . 95 

“  “  (101)  Portrait  of  My  Mother  155 

Werenskiold,  Erik  —  Portrait  of . 121 

Willumsen,  J.  F.  —  Portrait  of . 97 

“  “  “  (103)  Youth  and  Sunshine  .  156 

“  “  “  (105)  A  Mother’s  Dream  .  157 

Wold-Torne,  Oluf  —  Portrait  of . 122 

Zorn,  Anders  L.  - —  Portrait  of . 69 

“  “  “  (42)  Matins  on  Christmas  Day  .  158 

“  “  “  (46A)  Hall  Kesti  .  .  .  .159 


165 


VEN TIS  P OT  V  IT- DVRERrVT ORA  PHILirPI 
AyENTEAV  NON  POTViTPINGERE-DOGTA 
--WANV.S 


T elephone  8 1 0  Stuyvesant 


RUDOLF  SECKEL 

RARE  AND  OLD  ETCHINGS 
AND  ENGRAVINGS 

31  EAST  12TH  STREET 
NEW  YORK 


B105 

PORTRAIT  OF 
PHILIP  MELANCTHON 

Engraving  by  Albrecht  Durer 


C.  G.  MACKLIN,  President  J.  SUSTER,  Secretary 

Newcomb-Macklin  Company 

Makers  of 

PICTURE  FRAMES 


Hand  Carved  Carton  Pierre  and  Composition 
Modern  and  Antique  Styles 

SALESROOM 

233  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  CITY 
GEORGE  A.  McCOY,  Manager 

FACTORY 

STATE  AND  KINZIE  STREETS,  CHICAGO 


166 


E.  GIMPEL  ®  WILDENSTEIN 

HIGH  CLASS  OLD  PAINTINGS 
AND  WORKS  OF  ART 

636  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 
57  RUE  LA  BOETIE,  PARIS 


MACBETH  GALLERY 

PAINTINGS  BY 
AMERICAN  ARTISTS 

ANNOUNCEMENTS  OF  EXHIBITIONS 
WILL  BE  MAILED  ON  REQUEST 

William  Macbeth 
450  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York 


167 


ESTABLISHED  1779 

Royal 

Copenhagen 

Porcelain 


Hand  painted  under  the 
glaze  by  artists  renown¬ 
ed  throughout  the  world 
of  Ceramic  Art. 

Vases,  Figures,  Placques 
Tableware,  Etc. 


Write  for  Pamphlet 


Royal  Copenhagen  Porcelain 

16  WEST  33d  STREET  Opposite 


168 


Two  Grand  Prix,  Paris,  1900 
Two  Gold  Medals,  Paris,  1900 
Grand  Prix,  Brussels,  1910 

Highest  Award 
Dresden,  1897  and  1901 


Grand  Prix,  Paris  .  . 
Highest  awards 

Chicago . 

San  Francisco  .  .  .  . 

Atlanta . 


1889 


1893 

1894 

1895 


Copenhagen  Art  Fayence 

Unique  in  colors,  shapes  and  designs. 
Endless  variety  of  suggestions  for  gifts. 


We  have  just  brought  over  a  very  unique  line  of 
Danish  Hand -Wrought  Art  Jewelry  and  Silverware. 

Also  Danish  Hedebo  Embroideries, 
over  one  hundred  years  old,  which 
we  should  like  to  have  you  inspect 
at  your  convenience. 


and  Danish  Arts 

Waldorf-Astoria  NEW  YORK 


169 


Art  Lovers,  Look  Here! 

Purchase  one  of  the  following  Art- 
Books;  you  wi)l  never  regret  it: 

“MODERN  SWEDISH  ART  IN  COLORS” 

A  portfolio  containing  8  pictures  in  colors  by 
PRINCE  EUGEN,  CARL  LARSSON  and 
BRUNO  LILJEFORS,  with  descriptive  text 
in  English  by  Christian  Brinton 

Price,  $1.00;  postage,  15  cents 

CARL  LARSSON  ALBUMS 

“Ett  Hem  ”  25  colored  plates,  bound,  $4.20,  postpaid 

“  Larssons  ”  32  “  “  “  $5.25,  “ 

“  Spadarfvet  ”  24  “  “  “  $5.25, 

“At  Solsidan  ”  32  “  “  “  $7.00, 

“PRINCE  EUGEN:  SVENSKA  LANDSKAP ” 

30  plates,  $5.25,  postpaid 

“BRUNO  LILJEFORS:  UTE  I  MARKERNA  ” 

32  plates.  (Animal  Studies),  $7.00,  postpaid 
ALWAYS  IN  STOCK  AT 

Albert  Bonnier  Publishing  House 

561  Third  Avenue  New  York  City 


170 


F.  W.  DEV OE  &  CO.’S 

Artists’  Oil  Colors  in  Tubes, 
Water  Colors,  Canvas, 

Fine  Brushes 

Have  been  commended  by  eminent  American  Artists  and  are  in 
use  in  all  the  prominent  Schools  of  Art  in  the  United  States. 
The  name  Devoe  is  an  unfailing  mark  of  quality.  Ask  your 
dealer  for  “  Devoe  ”  goods. 

EVERYTHING  IN  ARTISTS’  MATERIALS 

F.  W.  Devoe  &  C.  T.  Raynolds  Co. 

NEW  YORK  AND  CHICAGO 


Norway  Mexico  Gulf  Line 

AND 

Swedish  America  Mexico  Line 

REGULAR  SERVICE  FROM 

Kristiania,  Gothenberg  and  Stavanger  to 
Newport  News  (Va.),  Vera  Cruz  (Mex.) 
and  Galveston  (Tex.)  and  Return. 
Also  to  Havana  and  New  Orleans. 

G.  M.  BRYDE,  Kristiania,  Norway,  Traffic  Manager  of  both  Lines 

AGENTS 

FURNESS  WITHY  &  CO.,  Ltd.,  10-12  Broadway,  New  York 

FURNESS  WITHY  &  CO.,  Ltd.,  Newport  News,  Va. 

1 .  FOWLER  fit  McVITIE,  Galveston,  Tex. 

BEREA,  O’KELLY  8t  CO.,  Vera  Cruz,  Mex. 


171 


SCANDINAVIAN - 
AMERICAN  LINE 

Direct  to  the 

Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun 

FAST  TWIN-SCREW 
PASSENGER  STEAMER  SERVICE 

between 

New  York  and  Denmark, 
Norway  and  Sweden 

with  the  steamers 

OSCAR  II  HELLIG  OLAV 

UNITED  STATES  C.  F.  TIETGEN 

Building:  FREDERIK  VIII  (12,000  tons) 

Excellent  Accommodations.  Moderate  Rates. 
The  Latest  Improvements.  Unexcelled  Scandina¬ 
vian  Meals.  Splendid  Connections  in  Copenhagen 
with  all  the  Principal  Cities  on  the  Continent 


A.  E.  Johnson  (2&  Co. 

General  Passenger  Agents 

1  Broadway  New  York 


172 


CARROLL  cART  GALLERIES 

64  WEST  38TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

PAINTINGS,  BRONZES  AND 
OTHER  OBJECTS  OF  ART 

EXHIBITION  GALLERY  FOR  ARTISTS’  WORK 
HARRIETT  C.  BRYANT 


GEORGE  H.  AINSLIE 

569  FIFTH  AVENUE 
At  46TH  ST.,  NEW  YORK 

Paintings  by  George  Inness  and  A.  H.  Wyant 


WE  SPECIALIZE  IN  INSURING  WORKS  OF  ART 

Against  all  Risks  — Anywhere 

Wm. 

STAKE  <&  CO. 

(Established  1860) 

GENERAL 

INSURANCE  BROKERS 

3065 

80  MAIDEN  LANE 

’Phones  3066  John 
3067 

NEW  YORK 

WE  INSURED  THE  SCANDINAVIAN  EXHIBITION 

As  Well  as  Others 

173 


P.  A.  NORSTEDT  &  SONS 

ART  AND  GENERAL 
PUBLISHERS 

STOCKHOLM,  BRYGGAREGATAN  17 


Reproductions  in  Color  after  Paintings 
by  Prince  Eugen,  Anders  Zorn,  Carl  Lars- 
son,  Bruno  Liljefors,  Gunnar  Hallstrom, 
Carl  Wilhelmson,  etc. 


Publishers  of 

SWEDEN  THROUGH  THE  ARTIST’S  EYE 

By  Carl  G.  Laurin 
(English  and  Swedish  Text) 

Also  Carl  G.  Laurin’s  Konsthistoria, 
Skamtbilden,  and  Kulturhistorisk  Bilder- 
bok,  each  work  copiously  illustrated. 

Orders  Filled  Direct  or  Through 

GEORGE  BUSSE 

12  West  28th  St.  New  York 


174 


WINSOR  &  NEWTON,  Ltd. 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  ARTISTS’  MATERIALS 

For  the  best  see  that  you  obtain  WINSOR  &  NEWTON’S 
Oil  Colors,  Water  Colors,  Brushes,  Oil,  Vehicles, 

Varnishes  and  Mediums 

CANVASES — Winton,  Best  Artists,  British, 

Kensington  and  School  of  Art — All  Sizes. 

Send  Five  Cents  for  Catalogue 

298  BROADWAY  NEW  YORK 


DAY  a  M  E YER 

PACKERS  y  SHIPPERS  OF 
HIGH  CLASS  FURNITURE  &  WORKS  OF  ART 

341  FOURTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 

Selected  to  receive,  unpack  and  repack  for  transportation  the 
Collection  of  Contemporary  Scandinavian  Art 
Because  of  excellent  facilities  and  manner  of  service 


Special  Policy  Insuring  Paintings 
Against  All  Risks 

Covering  Loss  from  Any  Cause, 
in  Any  Location  and  in  Transit 

HERBERT  M.  SMITH 

80  Maiden  Lane 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


175 


TAPESTRIES 

Old  masterpieces  reproduced  and  modern  American 
subjects  designed  and  woven  in  antique  texture  on 
their  own  looms  at  Williamsbridge  bp  Wm.  Baumgar- 
ten  &  Co.,  who  in  February,  1 893,  Were  the  first  to 
introduce  the  art  of  tapestry  weaving  into  America. 

A  Iso  a  remarkable  stock  °f  antique  tapestries  of  the 
XVI,  XVII,.XVIIIth  centuries. 

Our  5000-word  “  History  of  Ta¬ 
pestry,”  Fifty  Cents,  Postpaid 

WM.  BAUMGARTEN  &  CO. 

PARIS  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


“TAPESTRIES” 

Their  Origin,  History  and  Renaissance 
By  GEORGE  LELAND  HUNTER 

This  is  a  fascinating  book,  on  a  fascinating  subject.  It  is  written  by  a 
scholar  whose  passion  for  accuracy  and  original  research  did  not  prevent  him 
from  making  a  story  easy  to  read.  It  answers  the  questions  people  are 
always  asking  as  to  how  tapestries  differ  from  paintings,  and  good  tapestries 
from  bad  tapestries.  It  will  interest  lovers  of  paintings  and  rugs  and  his¬ 
tory  and  fiction,  for  it  shows  how  tapestries  compare  with  paintings  in  picture 
interest,  with  rugs  in  texture  interest,  and  with  historic  and  other  novels  in 
romantic  interest.  ( For  Scandinavian  tapestries,  see  pages  230,  232,  364 
and  elsewhere.) 

With  four  full-page  plates  in  color,  and  147  half¬ 
tone  engravings.  Square  8vo.  Cloth,  $5.00  net. 

Postpaid,  $5.25.  Large  Paper  Edition,  $12.50  net 

JOHN  LANE  COMPANY 

120  WEST  32d  STREET  NEW  YORK 


176 


Moulton  C&,  Ricketts 

Successors  in  the  United  States  to 

ARTHUR  TOOTH  8s  SONS 


PAINTINGS 


Etchings  and 
Engravings 


NEW  YORK 
537  Fifth  Avenue 


CHICAGO 
73  E.  Van  Buren  St. 


MILWAUKEE 
535  Jackson  St. 


European  Representatives:  ARTHUR  TOOTH  &  SONS 
London,  155  New  Bond  Street  Paris,  41  Boulevard  des  Capucines 


